Hausmann, the multimedia pioneer

He is considered a co-inventor of collage and developed experimental poems and synaesthetic devices: the Austrian-German Raoul Hausmann (1886-1971) is one of the best-known artists of Dadaism. In his early years, Hausmann, who lived in Berlin, designed Art Nouveau book covers after completing his training. At the same time, after becoming acquainted with several painters from the Brücke group, he designed expressionist lithographs and woodcuts. In 1918, Hausmann co-founded the Berlin Club Dada. Here he attempted to break down the boundaries of the familiar, which is why he is now considered one of the earliest multimedia artists. For Hausmann, art and life were closely linked, and his private life was also marked by a departure from bourgeois conventions. The Berlinische Galerie is dedicating a major retrospective to him with around 200 works, including a representative selection of his late work. Raoul Hausmann: Vision. Provocation. Dada runs from November 8, 2025, to March 16, 2026.

Hausmann was a multifaceted artist who had a major influence on subsequent generations. Together with Hannah Höch, he is considered a pioneer, particularly in the field of photo collage. The partial estate of Raoul Hausmann, which came to the Berlinische Galerie in 1992, comprises all evidence of his life and work in Berlin prior to his emigration in 1933. The current exhibition was created in collaboration with the Musée d'art contemporain de la Haute-Vienne Château de Rochechouart, which is contributing many works from Hausmann's late period. Hausmann's best-known work is the assemblage Untitled (Mechanical Head. The Spirit of Our Time) (circa 1920, see photo below), which symbolizes the fusion of humans with their technological environment.