Tastlicht Table Lamp By Marianne Brandt For Ruppel

Tastlicht Table Lamp By Marianne Brandt For Ruppel

Product code #OA1213

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- Original red paint with pinstriping

- Glass shade

- Takes E27 fitting bulbs

- Large touch switch

- Designed by Marianne Brandt for Ruppel

- German ~ 1920s

- 23cm tall x 11cm wide x 18cm deep

Marianne Brandt 

Brandt was born in Chemnitz as Marianne Liebe. In 1919 she married the Norwegian painter Erik Brandt, with whom she traveled in Norway and France. She trained as a painter before joining the Weimar Bauhaus in 1923. There she became a student of Hungarian modernist theorist and designer László Moholy-Nagy in the metal workshop.

She quickly rose to the position of workshop assistant and succeeded Moholy as the workshop's acting director in 1928, serving in the post for one year and negotiating some of the most important Bauhaus contracts for collaborations with industry. These contracts for the production of lights and other metal workshop designs were a rare example of one of the workshops helping to fund the school. After leaving the Bauhaus for Berlin in 1929, Brandt worked for Walter Gropius in his Berlin studio. She subsequently became the head of metal design at the Ruppel firm in Gotha, where she remained until losing her job in the midst of the ongoing financial depression in 1932.

Early in 1933, with the advent of the period of National Socialism in Germany, Brandt first attempted to find work outside of the country, but family responsibilities called her back to Chemnitz. She was unable to find steady employment throughout the Nazi period. In 1939 she did become a member of the "Reichskulturkammer," the official Nazi organization of artists, in order to obtain a few art supplies, which had otherwise been forbidden to her. However, Brandt was never a member of the National Socialist Party. After many years of living apart, she and Erik Brandt officially divorced in 1935.After World War II, Brandt remained in Chemnitz to help rebuild her family's home, which had been severely damaged in the bombings. She lived out her days in the East Germany, and died in Kirchberg, Saxony at the age of 89.

While the Bauhaus was generally reviled as "decadent" during much of the German Democratic Republic, by the end of her life Brandt had a loyal group of students from her many years as a teacher of design.

Condition Report

Fully re wired with modern electrical components, some ageing to the paint in places. The inner ring between the bulb holder and the glass inside the shade is a more modern addition but only slightly noticeable by turning the lamp over and looking under the shade.

As with all of our products this product is an original piece and has lived a life before it arrived at Otto's HQ. It has been sympathetically restored by the Otto's team to ensure it has a life for many more years to come. All of our products will show signs of patina and cosmetic wear, this we believe is what gives our products their unique charm. If you have any further questions regarding the condition of this product or any others please don't hesitate to contact us and we'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. Otto's x