Urban Magnificence: August Endell Lauds the Less-Than-Aesthetic Cityscape
In the early 20th century, Berlin was a city undergoing rapid modernization and urban growth. Smoky skies, industrial landscapes, and bustling city life were common sights, often described as repulsive and garish by commentators. However, one man saw beauty in this gritty urban environment: August Endell.
Endell, a designer, architect, and founder of the Jugendstil arts movement, penned an essay titled "The Beauty of the Metropolis" in 1908. This work, now translated by James J. Conway, offers a unique perspective on early 20th-century urban aesthetics, celebrating the unexpected beauty found in the heart of Berlin.
Endell's essay is a meditation on aesthetics, shot through with theoretical musings. He finds a unique beauty in the smoke, steel structures, and busy streets, elements that were typically seen as chaotic or ugly. His appreciation of the metropolis aligns with broader artistic and intellectual movements of the time that sought to grapple with and redefine beauty amid modernization’s raw realities.
The text reflects the transition to modern urban life, highlighting how the metropolis embodies new social and architectural forms emerging at that time. By praising the "unpretty," Endell challenges classical aesthetics, opening space for a new understanding of artistic value rooted in everyday city experiences.
Endell observes Berlin with the eye of a naturalist and artist, engaging in turn-of-the-century debates about the city's bustling intersections, streets teeming with working-class tenements, and jangling tram lines. He rejects jingoistic nostalgia for village life, instead embracing the dynamism and complexity of the metropolis.
"The Beauty of the Metropolis" is not a roving report on Berlin streetlife, but a thoughtful exploration of the city's aesthetics. This book, now accessible to contemporary audiences, offers a fascinating insight into the mind of an artist who saw beauty in the unexpected and challenged conventional notions of beauty.
August Endell, who lived in Berlin during its Wilhelmine boom, was a pioneer in his appreciation of the metropolis. His work continues to resonate today, offering a fresh perspective on the beauty of urban life and challenging us to see our cities in a new light.
Following the trajectory of modernization in the early 20th century, Endell's essay "The Beauty of the Metropolis" delved into the realms of fashion-and-beauty and lifestyle, redefining urban aesthetics by highlighting the beauty found in the smoky skies, industrial landscapes, and busy streets of Berlin. Today, this work serves as a compelling entree into the home-and-garden of the mind, inviting contemporary readers to reconsider books on urban life by embracing the unexpected beauty and challenging conventional notions of beauty.
