Examining the Impact of Female Designers on the Modernist Movement (Lilly Reich, Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, and Benita Koch-Otte)

Abstract

Lilly Reich, Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, and Benita Koch-Otte were three prominent female figures in the fields of design, architecture, and art during the modern era. However, the extent of their influence in this period was not equally distributed. Lilly Reich, in addition to creating architectural works, developed coherent theoretical ideas in design thinking and sought to create form based on her philosophical perspectives while adhering to the principles of modern art. This aspect of her work distinguishes her from the other two designers. Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky’s most notable characteristic was her systematic approach to design, which culminated in the creation of the Frankfurt Kitchen—an unparalleled example of integrating the functions of a smaller system, the kitchen, within a larger system, the home. Benita Koch-Otte deserves recognition not only for her unique designs produced during her time at the Bauhaus but also for her later contributions to art education. She stands as a representative Bauhaus artist whose work exemplified the school’s aim of merging art with everyday life.

Examining successful individuals without analyzing the spirit of the era in which they lived is both difficult and incomplete. Therefore, since these women were all active within the same stylistic and historical period and shared the common experience of being women, this study first explores the social mindset and then the artistic community’s attitudes toward women under the overarching themes of modernism and feminism.