Joost Schmidt

1893–1948

Joost Schmidt (German, 1893-1948) studied painting at the Weimar Academy from 1910-1914, and afterwards served in the military. Between 1919 and 1925 he studied typography and trained in the woodcarving workshop at the Bauhaus in Weimar. A visionary typographer and graphic desiger, Schmidt is most well known for his design of the poster advertising the 1923 Bauhaus exhibition in Weimar. In 1925, Schmidt became junior master at the Bauhaus in Dessau and taught there until 1932. He first became the director of the sculpture workshop and from 1928 onwards was the director of the advertising classes. During this time he also headed the affiliated photography department. After the Bauhaus was forced to move to Berlin, Schmidt first opened a studio in Berlin and worked as an illustrator, but also taught at a private art school (formerly Reimann School) in Berlin from 1935 to 1936. Due to his past Bauhaus-affiliation, he was dismissed by the National Socialists from teaching and instead worked as a typographer for several publishers. After the war, he became professor at the Hochschule für bildende Künste (University of the Arts) in Berlin and designed various exhibitions.