The Cafe Aubette, located in the central square of Strasbourg, is one of
the most ambitious projects of the artistic avant-garde of the '20s, so much
to be defined by the most enthusiastic as the "Sistine Chapel" of
modern art.
The grandiose building, prior used for military purposes,
came into possession of the Horn brothers in 1922, they wished to
make it the meeting point of reference for the Strasbourg society.
When the Cofè Aubette's project was finished, Theo van Doesburg, responsible for making new, called it as the realization of unbridled imagination.
When the Cofè Aubette's project was finished, Theo van Doesburg, responsible for making new, called it as the realization of unbridled imagination.
Theo van Doesburg, a self-taught painter and architect, was flanked in the realization of the Aubette by Hans Arp and his wife. The project fully reflects the stylistic canons of the vanguard of which the two artists were among the greatest exponents. The painting is characterized by primary colors and geometric shapes such as lines and squares, and is completely subservient to architecture and its valorisation.
The architect's passion for abstract art finds its roots in the anti-rational Dada
movement. Doesburg uses large colored shapes as
decorations on the walls to draw diagonals that create dynamism and
tension coming into contact with the rectangles of the structural
elements such as doors and windows. It also attends of the furnishings with personal
choices, using colors like gray black and red, and follows in the first person
the arrangement of lighting.
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