Wilhelm Wagenfeld was born on April 15, 1900, in Bremen, Germany. From the age of 14 to 18 he studied at Koch & Bergfeld, a silverware factory in Bremen, in the drawing department. At the same time, he attended the School of Applied Arts (Kunstgewerbeschule) in Bremen.

From 1919 onward, Wilhelm Wagenfeld studied at the drawing academy in Hanau, where he graduated as a master student under painter Reinhold Ewald.

Wagenfeld attended the famous Bauhaus art school in Weimar (founded in 1919 by architect Walter Gropius) from 1923 until 1925, where he designed his famous table lamp — often referred to as the Bauhaus lamp. Most books and literature state that Carl Jakob Jucker co-designed this lamp. This is incorrect. It has long been proven and legally recognized that Wilhelm Wagenfeld created the lamp. Today, this table lamp is produced by Tecnolumen.

Wilhelm Wagenfeld married Else Heinrich in 1925. In the same year, he filed a patent for a technical improvement of the table lamp — a glass version. He wanted to avoid conflicts of use with the Bauhaus, which continued to produce and market his lights.

In 1928 Wagenfeld took over the management of the metal workshop at the Staatliche Bauhochschule Weimar (State University of Applied Sciences), where metal appliances, table lamps and ceiling lamps were produced.

In the following years, he designed many everyday objects such as coffee pots, tea pots, glasses, kitchenware, and crockery.

World War II

In 1943 Wagenfeld was released from military service due to requests from the glass industry. In 1944 he refused to join the NSDAP (German Nazi Party) and was consequently transferred to an aviator corps on the Eastern Front as punishment. He was captured by the Russians and held as a prisoner of war for some time.

LIghting Companies

From 1953 to 1958 he designed lighting for Peill+Putzler and Heinz Neuhaus. In 1953 he also founded his own Werkstatt Wagenfeld (Wagenfeld Workshop) in Stuttgart.

His long collaboration with Lindner began in 1955 and lasted until 1970, during which he developed a comprehensive lighting program. At Lindner he also designed lamps for Systral-Leuchten, a Lindner company.

Wagenfeld also designed lights for Brunnquell Leuchten, Bünte und Remmler (BuR), and Rosenthal Leuchten. In 1978 his workshop closed, and two years later, in 1980, Tecnolumen began producing the Bauhaus lamps. Wilhelm Wagenfeld passed away in Stuttgart in 1990. His resting place is in Collex-Bossy, Switzerland.

Wilhelm Wagenfeld received numerous awards and is regarded as one of the most celebrated German designers, for instance, Wagenfeld has received 105 iF Design Awards.

Wagenfeld Bauhaus Table Lamp – At The Bauhaus

A photograph from this period shows Wilhelm Wagenfeld with a pipe in hand, his brow slightly furrowed and his gaze turned aside — as if caught mid-thought. It feels like a moment interrupted, a designer paused between ideas, perhaps already imagining a fitting, a base, or a glass form. As early as December 1923, Christian Dell noted in his workshop report that his student was “working on designs for lighting.”

Wagenfeld Bauhaus Table Lamp – Bauhaus and the Collaboration with Christian Dell

Before joining the Bauhaus, Wilhelm Wagenfeld studied metal design at the drawing academy in Hanau, where he met Christian Dell, a former Bauhaus craftsman who had become master of the metal workshop. Dell immediately recognized Wagenfeld’s potential—not just as a skilled silversmith, but as someone who could think about form and function at the same time. He introduced him to the idea that craftsmanship and art were not opposites but part of a single process, and that design could serve a social purpose.

Encouraged by Dell, Wagenfeld applied to the State Bauhaus in Weimar in October 1923. His application was supported by Dell himself, who described him as a “useful craftsman.” Because of Dell’s recommendation, Wagenfeld was admitted directly into the metal workshop, bypassing the usual preliminary course—a rare privilege that reflected both his skill and Dell’s trust in him.

At the Bauhaus, László Moholy-Nagy had recently taken over as head of the metal workshop, and Dell continued as the technical master. This combination—Moholy-Nagy’s conceptual vision and Dell’s precise craftsmanship—created the perfect environment for Wagenfeld to develop his own ideas about light, form, and function.

By early 1924, Wagenfeld was designing lighting objects that embodied the Bauhaus ideal of “Art and Technology – a New Unity.” Reports from Dell’s workshop mention Wagenfeld’s first completed pieces, including metal and glass table lamps made for the 1924 “Die Form” exhibition in Stuttgart. Among them was the glass-based lamp that would later become known as the Wagenfeld Lamp (WG 24).

The result of this period was not just an object, but a synthesis of the entire Bauhaus philosophy: clarity, reduction, and a belief that good design could illuminate everyday life—literally and metaphorically.

Wagenfeld Bauhaus Table Lamp – Walter Schnepel

Collector & entrepreneur Walter Schnepel, founder of Tecnolumen.

Tecnolumen

Tecnolumen was founded in 1980 in Bremen, Germany, by art collector and entrepreneur Walter Schnepel. The company’s history began a few years earlier, in 1976, when Schnepel visited Wilhelm Wagenfeld in his studio and noticed an unused lamp standing on a shelf — the 1924 Bauhaus table lamp that would later become world-famous.

When Schnepel asked why it had never been produced again, Wagenfeld reportedly replied: “Why don’t you do it?” With Wagenfeld’s permission, Schnepel obtained the license to manufacture the lamp, which became the first product under the Tecnolumen name.

At the time, producing lamps was completely new to Schnepel, and finding reliable suppliers was difficult. The first 250 pieces were made by hand in small numbers, each detail checked and approved by Wagenfeld himself. When the first advertisement appeared in the magazines ART and Schöner Wohnen, the lamps sold out within weeks — confirming that there was genuine interest in authentic Bauhaus design. The model was designated WA 24, referring to its Bauhaus origin year.

The original Wagenfeld table lamp (WA 24) has remained in continuous production ever since. Every example carries the Tecnolumen mark and a serial number, ensuring that it follows the original proportions and materials defined by Wagenfeld. In consultation with Wagenfeld, only minimal changes were made to the design: the base radius was slightly reduced, the plate thickness adjusted, and the glass dome positioned marginally higher. Minor adjustments were made in agreement with him, mainly to adapt to changing electrical standards and materials.

Today Tecnolumen continues to produce the Wagenfeld lamp in Bremen, together with a carefully curated range of other historical and contemporary designs — including works by Marianne Brandt, Gyula Pap, and Hans Przyrembel. All lamps are assembled by hand using glass and metal components made in Germany or nearby European workshops.

In 1995, Schnepel invited 32 international artists to reinterpret the lamp as an art object, exploring its meaning beyond utility — from humorous transformations to conceptual works. You can find these designs over here, on the Tecnolumen website.

For over four decades, Tecnolumen has remained dedicated to preserving the spirit of the Bauhaus: honest materials, functional form, and lasting quality. All Tecnolumen lights are VDE -certified and numbered, with replacement parts guaranteed for decades — a principle that mirrors the Bauhaus idea of durable, functional design.

Wagenfeld Bauhaus Table Lamp – Scetch

Drawing by Wilhelm Wagenfeld for the lampshade.

Wagenfeld Bauhaus Table Lamp – Wilhem Wagenfeld Workshop

The Wilhelm Wagenfeld workshop.

Wagenfeld Bauhaus Table Lamp – At The Factory Creating New Lamps

Detail photos of the Tecnolumen workshop. The porcelain part is being placed in the socket. In the other photo the lamp is almost ready to be packed. The breakable opal glass lampshade is packed separately.