Born on 14th April 1868 in Hamburg, Peter Behrens was one of the most prominent architects and designers of all times whose legacy lives on long after he passed away. Talented and with unique design patterns, he discovered his talent very early during his teenage days when he began painting in his youth. Moreover, he became the Art Nouveau designer majoring in decorative and graphic art at around the same age (Dennis, 2011). It is from Peter Behrensâ youthful obsessions that he later came to discover and major on his talent. This was succeeded by a number of design and architectural works, all with an exceptional skill which made him a design icon prior to his demise. This research attempts to explain the history of design with a particular focus on the works of Peter Behrens. It analyses in depth, the design works, and other works related to design performed by Peter Behrens in a bid to historically contextualize design.
Peterâs Design Work in Context
As has been mentioned, Peter began his career as a painter, a profession which he later came to abandon. He then majored in graphics and applied arts. However, his great breakthrough came when he accepted an invitation of the Grand-duke Ernst-Ludwig of Hesse. Peter was made the second member of the newly incepted Colony of artists called Darmstadt. Armed with a penchant for design, he constructed his personal house and single-handedly created the whole interior from furniture to the kitchen including the paintings. Actually, most literature on Peter consider this as the turning point on his life since he thereafter, gradually drifted away from his previously gaudy form of design to more modest and acceptable ones. This is illustrated by his succeeding collection of exquisite design works.