The Bauhaus school believed that craftsmanship and fine art should be united and that the distinction between the two was an artificial one: all artists were merely elevated craftsmen and all craftsmen should be artists. Besides the aesthetical aspect, craftsmen must also be concerned with the practical side of their work, such as availability of materials, costs and production techniques. In order to accomplish this goal, Bauhaus employed a craft system. Beginning students were called apprentices. After three semesters they could sit for their journeyman's exams. Upon passing these exams, they could enter a course of study that would allow them to become masters of craft. Each workshop (metal, weaving, pottery, furniture, typography and wall painting - not counting the art and architecture schools) employed a master of form and a master of crafts to involve the students in both the aesthetical and the technical sides of their work.
Josef Hartwig was a master of craft in the furniture workshop. He was born in Munich on March 13, 1880 and died in Frankfurt on November 13, 1856. Thirteen was both his lucky and unlucky number.
Hartwig created the chess set as well as a chess table and chair: