A Life Between Berlin and Holland

Born in Berlin in 1896 to Dutch Jewish parents, Paul Citroen lived a life shaped by the shifting borders of early twentieth-century Europe. His early years were marked by a movement between Germany and Holland, a transition that began in 1917 when he moved to the Netherlands during the First World War. While he initially learned the bookshop trade, his true vocation lay in the intersection of commerce and art. In Berlin, he established a specialized art bookshop for Herbert Walden, the owner of Der Sturm, an endeavor that placed him at the heart of a burgeoning avant-garde scene.

This period of his life brought him into the company of figures such as John Heartfield and George Grosz. His interests were not limited to the printed page; he possessed a deep fascination with photography, often influenced by the work of his friend Erwin Blumenfeld. By the time he arrived at the Bauhaus in Weimar in 1919, Citroen was already deeply immersed in the experimental spirit of the age.

The Architecture of an Imagined City

At the Bauhaus, Citroen studied under Johannes Itten and Paul Klee, absorbing the rigorous yet experimental methodologies of the school. It was during this time, in 1923, that he produced his most significant work, a large-scale photo-montage titled Metropolis. This piece was not a random collection of images but a carefully planned assembly of hundreds of optically cascading photographs of buildings. He sought to create a vision of a future city, an imagined urban landscape that felt both cohesive and overwhelming.

The technique used in Metropolis relied on the precise arrangement of photographic elements to suggest the scale and density of modern life. The work captured a specific duality: the excitement of urban expansion paired with a sense of architectural oppression. This vision was so potent that it is credited with influencing the cinematic language of Fritz Lang. Through this montage, Citroen moved beyond simple collage into a structured exploration of urban psychology.

Teaching and Later Years

The political shifts in Germany during the early 1930s prompted a permanent move to Holland in 1933. In Amsterdam, Citroen sought to shape the next generation of creators by co-founding the Nieuwe Kunstschool alongside Charles Roelofsz and Jan Havermans. Although the school faced financial difficulties and closed in 1937, it was a notable institution, being among the first to offer specialized courses in fashion. His career later transitioned into academia at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague.

His later years were marked by both stability and the hardships of war, during which he eventually went into hiding. Upon returning to his teaching post in 1945, he remained a fixture of the Dutch art education system until his retirement in 1960. His contributions even extended to the small scale of the Dutch postal service, where he designed a Summer Series of stamps. He passed away in 1983 in Wassenaar, Holland, leaving behind a legacy defined by the structured chaos of the modern city.