Christian Dell

Christian Dell im Kosmos der Hanauer Zeichenakademie

The metal workshop at the Bauhaus in Weimar, led by master craftsman Christian Dell, is widely regarded as the birthplace of modern industrial design.

Yet Christian Dell's remarkable career would not have been possible without his origins and education in the Brothers Grimm city of Hanau. His training at Hanau's Drawing Academy (Zeichenakademie), founded in 1772, brought Christian Dell into contact with the leading figures of modern design. His life's work remained closely connected to the city of Hanau well beyond 1948.

In 1996, Beate Alice Hofmann, Head of Collections at the Municipal Museums of Hanau, curated the first solo exhibition dedicated to the work of Christian Dell, laying the foundation for the research that followed. This lecture explores the Hanau Drawing Academy (Zeichenakademie) as a breeding ground for leading designers at the beginning of the 20th century and examines the formative influence of Hanau on Christian Dell's creative work.