Paul Klee (1879-1940)

Paul Klee was born near Bern, Switzerland, in 1879 and is one of the world's most prolific painters. Throughout his career he exhibited sophisticated theories of abstraction and very personal inventiveness that represent themselves in works that appear full of innocence. Both parents were musicians, and Klee was himself a musician, who struggled with a decision to be a musician, an artist or an illustrator. He was widely traveled and was very receptive to many artistic influences. Of those whom he considered brilliant were Goya, Ensor and Blake; and Cézanne, especially, touched his work.

Klee's early works are mostly etchings and pen and ink drawings. These combine satirical, grotesque and surreal elements and reveal the influence of Goya and Ensor. Not only was the actual art unique, but when it came to titling the pieces, Klee added further intensity to the meanings of his works with titles of length and description. One such example is the title of a 1903 work: "Two Men Meet, Each Believing the Other to Be of Higher Rank." Just reading the title engages the viewer.

In 1906, Klee married pianist Lili Stumpf and settled in Munich, then the center for avant-garde art. This same year he exhibited his etchings for the first time. His friendship with Wassily Kandinsky and August Macke prompted him to join Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), an expressionists' group that contributed much to the development of abstract art. As a member of this group, with his very distinctive style his fame began to grow.

In 1914, a visit to Tunisia with Macke made a dramatic change in Klee's career. He was so overwhelmed by the intense light there that he wrote: "Color has taken possession of me; no longer do I have to chase after it, I know that it has hold of me forever. That is the significance of this blessed moment. Color and I are one. I am a painter." The significance of this statement far outweighs the surface meaning. For many years early in his career, Klee had battled with whether to be a painter, an illustrator or a musician (following his parents lead). Now he began works that were combinations of squares, overlapping and radiant like mosaics similar to those he had seen in his Italian travels. Of this period, his work "Red and White Domes" (1914) is a fine example of his new fascination with color. Klee's work took a decidedly upward turn that year because of the new color theories introduced to him.

World famous by the year 1929, Klee had chosen to take a teaching position at Bauhaus (1921 to 1931) and then at the Dusseldorf Academy (1931-1933). However, the Nazis judged his work degenerate and forced him to leave the Academy. Anything that was out of line with Hitler's way of thinking was considered "unworthy" and was also called Jewish or Bolshevistic. During Hitler's reign of insanity, over twenty thousand works by more than 200 artists of that time were confiscated.

Artists of banned works, mostly expressionists, were branded as mad. Curiously, those artists so branded were the most prominent among their peers of the time and to this day remain so. They were Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Edvard Munch and others, including the artist considered to be the most degenerate artist in the world, Pablo Picasso.

Violently attacked and forced to move by the Nazis, Klee returned to Berne, Switzerland, penniless after all his German funds were also confiscated. It was here that he came down with a crippling collagen disease, scleroderma, which forced him to develop a simpler style of painting and would eventually kill him. These late works, created during the last three years of his life, are charged with heavy black lines, often reflections on death and war. However, his last painting, "Still Life"(1940), is a serene piece described to be a summation of his life's concerns as a creator.

With more than 9,000 pieces to his credit, Paul Klee's work is difficult to classify. It represents the successful combination of an artist's sophisticated theories of abstraction with a very personal inventiveness that gives the illusion of simplicity. He was always extremely flexible in his techniques, as he explored the human psyche through his art. His work remains highly distinctive, and he is among some of the most popular artists of the 20th century. Primitive art, surrealism, cubism and children's art all seem blended into his small-scale, delicate paintings, watercolors and drawings.

The Paul Klee Center at Berne, Switzerland, is scheduled to open in 2006. It is a merge with the Paul Klee Foundation and will house 40 percent of Klee's work still existing--a must for all European travelers. (See ARTPOURRI Exhibitions below.)