He studied at the Staatliches Bauhaus Weimar from the winter semester of 1919, where he attended Johannes Itten’s preliminary course. In 1920, he worked as a journeyman in the wall painting department under Johannes Itten and Oskar Schlemmer and attended classes taught by Paul Klee. In 1922, he gained his master’s certificate at the Chamber of Crafts Weimar. He married the Bauhaus student Louise Berkenkamp the same year. Until 1925, he worked as a freelance painter and colour designer at Weimar’s Palace Museum and elsewhere.