bright start

At age 16 Wagenfeld began an apprenticeship in industrial drafting at the Koch & Bergfeld silverware factory in Bremen alongside studies at the Bremen School of Applied Arts. From 1919 to 1922 Wagenfeld studied at the Hanau Drawing Academy on a scholarship. All this training had a massive impact on the level of skill Wilhelm would achieve in his career.

i strive to create top quality items that are cheap enough for the poor and good enough for the rich. —wilhelm wagenfeld

Wilhelm Wagenfeld at work

Wilhelm Wagenfeld, 1953. Photo: courtesy of Wilhelm Wagenfeld Stiftung.

 

bauhaus years

Wilhelm Wagenfeld enrolled to study metal and glass at the Bauhaus under the guidance of László Moholy-Nagy. Wagenfeld’s most iconic design came during his first year of studies; in collaboration with his teacher Carl J. Jucker, Wilhelm created the “MT9” table lamp, universally known as the “Wagenfeld lamp”. A simple globe of opaline glass and a shaft of nickel-plated steel, this legendary piece is still produced today.

Building of the School of Art in Weimar

Building of the School of Art in Weimar. Photo by Louis Held, around 1911. © Klassik Stiftung Weimar.