Ad Parnassum, work by Paul Klee
#1 - Ad Parnassum

Top 100 - Paul Klee

The 100 essential works of Paul Klee

One hundred works to explore the signs, cities, fish, angels and colorful rhythms of one of the great poets of modern art.

At Klee, a line goes for a walk, a square becomes light and a fish can hold a whole night. Between music, writing and painting, each image invents its laws without losing the memory of the world.

1879 - 1940From Münchenbuchsee to Locarno
100Works to explore
1921The Bauhaus
PolyphonyColor as music
LineCreate movement
ColorBuild by agreements
SignWrite without explaining
MusicCompose by variations

The form in the making

Paul Klee: making visible what is transforming

Klee never definitively chooses between abstraction and story. A city becomes a grid, a face becomes a sign, a plant becomes architecture. His works ask less "what does this image represent?" than "how is this form appearing?"

Klee's art holds together the precision of an experience, the freedom of a drawing and the rhythm of a score.
Enter the works

Classification in images

I
Icons of a new language

Ad Parnassum, Angelus Novus, fish and masks open the classification: twenty-five works where Klee makes line, color and sign an autonomous world.

Ad Parnassum, work by Paul Klee#1
Paul Klee

Ad Parnassum

Date1932Techniquecasein and oil on unprepared canvasFormat100 × 126 cmCollectionKunstmuseum Bern, permanent loan to the Zentrum Paul Klee

Klee does not describe the world: he shows how a form begins to live. A luminous pyramid rises in a field of small colored touches; Klee transforms the Parnassus mountain into musical architecture and an experience of light. The shapes seem simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or a pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and repeats. A work therefore always dialogues with other leaves, like a musical motif changes character over its variations. The painting thus invites us to slow down. The more we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Angelus Novus, work by Paul Klee#2
Paul Klee

Angelus Novus

Date1920Techniqueoil transfer and watercolor on paperFormat31.8 × 24.2 cmCollectionThe Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Here, color acts like a voice and line like a thought path. The figure advances with open wings and a fixed gaze. Its body made of lines, loops and pale planes retains the ambiguity of a messenger stopped between appearance and retreat. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give recent years a new gravity, without abolishing irony. The image refuses finally to choose between story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Chirping machine, work by Paul Klee#3
Paul Klee

Chirping machine

Date1922Techniquetransfer to oil, watercolor and ink on paper mounted on cardboardFormat64.1 × 48.3 cmCollectionMuseum of Modern Art, New York

The scene is due to a few signs, but each modifies the reading of the whole. Four mechanical birds are placed on a wire connected to a crank. The drawing oscillates between toy, trap and score, as if natural singing could become an absurd machine. The shapes seem simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He borrows from abstraction, cubism and expressionism, then brings them back to a very personal sign language. This economy is one of Klee's great lessons. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention is often born from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Fish Magic, work by Paul Klee#4
Paul Klee

Fish Magic

Date1925Techniqueoil and watercolor on canvas mounted on panelFormat77.2 × 98.4 cmCollectionPhiladelphia Museum of Art

This image belongs to a universe where seeing, writing and listening become the same gesture. Pisces, plants, faces and signs float in a nocturnal blue. A light square attached to the surface seems to open a secret scene in the middle of the darkness. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become a landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. Klee thus unites rigor and freedom. The structure maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to dreams. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Cat and the Bird, work by Paul Klee#5
Paul Klee

Cat and the Bird

Date1928Techniqueoil and ink on coated canvas mounted on woodFormat38.1 × 53.2 cmCollectionMuseum of Modern Art, New York

The modesty of the format never prevents Klee from building an immense space. The monumental profile of the cat already contains the little bird it fixes. Forehead, muzzle and eyes become a mental map where desire appears even before movement. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of the trip to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The to identify each element rather than feeling their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Senecio, work by Paul Klee#6
Paul Klee

Senecio

Date1922Techniqueoil on a background of chalk, gauze and cardboardFormat40.3 × 37.4 cmCollectionKunstmuseum Basel

Between observation and invention, Klee lets the form retain its power of surprise. The round face is divided into colored quarters by simple lines. Between mask, sun and child's head, the image makes the identity mobile without losing its frontal presence. The contours do not completely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which patterns respond to each other. The painting invites you to slow down. The more we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Red Balloon, work by Paul Klee#7
Paul Klee

Red Balloon

Date1922Techniqueoil on muslin prepared with chalkFormat31.8 × 31.1 cmCollectionSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

The painting advances in intervals, repetitions and breaks, like a score. A red disc floats above a compact landscape of houses, branches and paths. Its simplicity gives the small format a visual focus that holds the entire composition together. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or a pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and repeats. A work therefore always dialogues with other leaves, like a musical motif changes character over its variations. The image ultimately refuses to choosing between story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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The Golden Fish, work by Paul Klee#8
Paul Klee

The Golden Fish

Date1925Techniqueoil and watercolor on paper mounted on cardboardFormat49.6 × 69.2 cmCollectionHamburger Kunsthalle

Nothing is set in stone: houses, figures and plants still seem to be seeking their final state. The fish radiates like an apparition in almost black water. Secondary shapes orient towards it, attracted by a gold which seems to produce its own light. The contours do not completely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give recent years a new gravity, without abolishing irony. This economy of means is one of Klee's great lessons. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention is often born from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Around the Fish, work by Paul Klee#9
Paul Klee

Around the fish

Date1926Techniqueoil and tempera on canvas mounted on cardboardFormat46.7 × 63.8 cmCollectionMuseum of Modern Art, New York

Klee does not describe the world: he shows how a form begins to live. A large dark fish occupies the center, surrounded by moons, plants, signs and objects. Space resembles an underwater constellation regulated by secret correspondences. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates movement, a grid can be a wall, garden or pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. freedom. The structure maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to dreams. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Main path and side paths, work by Paul Klee#10
Paul Klee

Main path and side paths

Date1929Techniqueoil on canvasFormat83.7 × 67.5 cmCollectionMuseum Ludwig, Cologne

Here, color acts like a voice and line like a thought path. A wide, clear path crosses tight bands of color and meets finer paths. Landscape becomes a rhythmic structure where moving forward also means reading. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His lessons nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. For the viewer, the essential is less identifying each element than feeling their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Death and Fire, work by Paul Klee#11
Paul Klee

Death and Fire

Date1940Techniquecolored paste on juteFormat46 × 44 cmCollectionZentrum Paul Klee, Bern

The scene is due to a few signs, but each modifies the reading of the whole. A face reduced to a few signs contains the German word Tod. The red light and the paleness of the mask condense the experience of the end into an image of overwhelming frankness. The shapes seem simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of the trip to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and The more we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Insula dulcamara, work by Paul Klee#12
Paul Klee

Insula dulcamara

Date1938Techniqueoil and color with glue on newspaper mounted on juteFormat88 × 176 cmCollectionZentrum Paul Klee, Bern

This image belongs to a universe where seeing, writing and listening become the same gesture. An elongated island brings together sun, snake, boat, face and vegetation in a field of signs. The immense format nevertheless retains the freedom of a written and repainted sheet. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which patterns respond to each other. The picture ultimately refuses to choose between story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Fire at the full moon, work by Paul Klee#13
Paul Klee

Fire at the full moon

Date1933Techniquewatercolor on color with glue, prepared canvasFormat50 × 65 cmCollectionMuseum Folkwang, Essen

The modesty of the format never prevents Klee from building an immense space. The moon's disk and a red light punctuate a landscape constructed by bands and silhouettes. Warm colors circulate like signals in the night. The shapes seem simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or a pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and covers. A work therefore always dialogues with other leaves, as a musical motif changes character over its variations. This economy of means is one of the great lessons of Klee. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention often arises from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Floral myth, work by Paul Klee#14
Paul Klee

Floral myth

Date1918Techniquewatercolor on prepared gauze, mounted on newspaper and cardboardFormat29 × 15.8 cmCollectionSprengel Museum Hannover

Between observation and invention, Klee lets the form retain its power of surprise. An unreal plant grows among stars, birds and floating shapes. The delicacy of the network transforms a small botanical world into an intimate cosmogony. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become a landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give new gravity in recent years, without abolishing irony. Klee unites like this rigor and freedom. The structure maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to dreams. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Villa R, work by Paul Klee#15
Paul Klee

Villa R

Date1919Techniqueoil on cardboardFormat26.5 × 22.4 cmCollectionKunstmuseum Basel

The painting advances in intervals, repetitions and breaks, like a score. Houses, trees and roads fit together under a large letter R. The perspective becomes a play of colorful shots where the written sign and architecture speak the same language. The shapes seem simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He borrows from abstraction, cubism and expressionism, then brings the main thing is less to identify each element than to feel their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
The Viaduct Revolution, work by Paul Klee#16
Paul Klee

The Viaduct Revolution

Date1937Techniqueoil on cottonFormat60 × 50 cmCollectionHamburger Kunsthalle

Nothing is fixed: houses, figures and plants still seem to be seeking their definitive state. The arches of a viaduct seem to leave their alignment and walk. Through a simple inappropriate repetition, Klee gives architecture a collective and almost political energy. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become a landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. The painting invites you to slow down. The more we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Mask of Fear, work by Paul Klee#17
Paul Klee

Mask of fear

Date1932Techniqueoil on burlapFormat100.4 × 57.1 cmCollectionMuseum of Modern Art, New York

Klee does not describe the world: he shows how a form begins to live. Two superimposed heads form a totemic presence. The big eyes and the tight mouth mix humor, concern and memory of ritual objects. The shapes seem simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of the trip to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to the wall, garden or pure rhythm. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Hammamet with its mosque, work by Paul Klee#18
Paul Klee

Hammamet with its mosque

Date1914Techniquewatercolor and graphite on paper mounted on cardboardFormat23.8 × 22.2 cmCollectionMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Here, color acts like a voice and line like a thought path. The white city unfolds in geometric planes under transparent light. The Tunisian journey teaches Klee to make color breathe like a real construction. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which patterns respond to each other. This economy of means is one of Klee's great lessons. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention is often born from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Heroic bowing, work by Paul Klee#19
Paul Klee

Heroic bowstrokes

Date1938Techniquetempera on paper mounted on canvasFormat73 × 53 cmCollectionMuseum of Modern Art, New York

The scene is due to a few signs, but each modifies the reading of the whole. Thick black lines cross the light field like the movements of a bow. The pictorial gesture acquires sound power without representing any instrument. The shapes seem simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or a pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and covers. A work therefore always dialogues with other leaves, as a musical motif changes character over its variations. Klee thus unites rigor and freedom. The structure maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to the dream. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Polyphony, work by Paul Klee#20
Paul Klee

Polyphony

Date1932Techniqueoil on canvasFormat66.5 × 106 cmCollectionKunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf

This image belongs to a universe where seeing, writing and listening become the same gesture. A multitude of small colored squares form a vibrant tablecloth. Variations of tone play together like autonomous voices united in the same composition. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give recent years a new gravity, without abolishing irony. For the viewer, the main thing is less to identify each element than to feel their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Castle and sun, work by Paul Klee#21
Paul Klee

Castle and sun

The modesty of the format never prevents Klee from building an immense space. In "Castle and Sun", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or a pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Red-green and purple-yellow rhythms, work by Paul Klee#22
Paul Klee

Red-green and purple-yellow rhythms

Between observation and invention, Klee lets the form retain its power of surprise. In "Red-Green and Purple-Yellow Rhythms", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. The image refuses finally to choose between story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Rose garden, work by Paul Klee#23
Paul Klee

Rose garden

The painting advances in intervals, repetitions and breaks, like a score. In "Jardin de roses", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of the trip to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1 lessons from Klee. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention often arises from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Southern Gardens, work by Paul Klee#24
Paul Klee

Southern Gardens

Nothing is fixed: houses, figures and plants still seem to be seeking their definitive state. In "Jardins du Sud", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which motifs respond to each other. Klee thus unites rigor and freedom. The structure maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to dreams. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Hammamet motif, work by Paul Klee#25
Paul Klee

Hammamet pattern

Klee does not describe the world: he shows how a form begins to live. In "Motif de Hammamet", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and covers. A work therefore always dialogues with other leaves, as a musical motif changes character over its variations. For the viewer, the main thing is less to identify each element than feeling their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities that explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
II
Travel, cities and architecture

From Tunis to imaginary ports, houses, roads and gardens become colorful partitions whose space transforms every interval.

Tunisian salon, traffic on the boulevard, work by Paul Klee#26
Paul Klee

Tunisian lounge, traffic on the boulevard

Here, color acts like a voice and line like a thought path. In "Tunisian Salon, Traffic on the Boulevard", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not completely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give new gravity in recent years, without abolishing irony. The painting invites you to slow down. The more we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Garden in Saint-Germain, European district near Tunis, work by Paul Klee#27
Paul Klee

Garden in Saint-Germain, European district near Tunis

The scene is due to a few signs, but each modifies the reading of the whole. In "Garden in Saint-Germain, European district near Tunis", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes ultimately refuses to choose between story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Episode in front of an Arab city, work by Paul Klee#28
Paul Klee

Episode in front of an Arab city

This image belongs to a universe where seeing, writing and listening become the same gesture. In "Episode in front of an Arab city", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. This economy of means is one of Klee's great lessons. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention is often born from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Kairouan, in front of the door, work by Paul Klee#29
Paul Klee

Kairouan, in front of the door

The modesty of the format never prevents Klee from building an immense space. In "Kairouan, in front of the door", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to the wall, garden or pure rhythm. The experience of maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to the dream. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Oriental Pleasure Garden, work by Paul Klee#30
Paul Klee

Oriental Pleasure Garden

Between observation and invention, Klee lets the form retain its power of surprise. In "Oriental Pleasure Garden", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which motifs respond to each other. For the viewer, the main thing is less to identify each element than to feel their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Camel in a rhythmic landscape with trees, work by Paul Klee#31
Paul Klee

Camel in a rhythmic landscape with trees

The painting advances in intervals, repetitions and breaks, like a score. In "Chameau in a rhythmic landscape with trees", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and covers. A work therefore always dialogues with other leaves, like a musical motif changes character over its variations. The painting invites thus to slow down. The more we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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The Full Moon, work by Paul Klee#32
Paul Klee

The Full Moon

Nothing is fixed: houses, figures and plants still seem to be seeking their definitive state. In "The Full Moon", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not completely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give recent years a new gravity, without abolishing irony. The image finally refuses to choose between story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Signs in the Sky, work by Paul Klee#33
Paul Klee

Signs in the sky

Klee does not describe the world: he shows how a form begins to live. In "Signs in the Sky", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes lessons from Klee. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention often arises from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Ships in the Dark, work by Paul Klee#34
Paul Klee

Ships in the Dark

Here, color acts as a voice and line as a thought path. In "Ships in the Dark", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. Klee thus unites rigor and freedom. There structure maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to the dream. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Rich port, image of a journey, work by Paul Klee#35
Paul Klee

Rich port, image of a journey

The scene is due to a few signs, but each modifies the reading of the whole. In "Rich port, image of a journey", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes seem simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of the trip to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to identify each element rather than feeling their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Ships at rest, work by Paul Klee#36
Paul Klee

Ships at rest

This image belongs to a universe where seeing, writing and listening become the same gesture. In "Ships at Rest", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which the motifs respond to each other. The painting thus invites slow down. The more we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Flirt and sailboat, work by Paul Klee#37
Paul Klee

Flirt and sailboat

The modesty of the format never prevents Klee from building an immense space. In "Dredger and Sailboat", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and covers. A work therefore always dialogues with other sheets, like a musical motif changes character over its variations. The image ultimately refuses to choose between story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Rotating house, work by Paul Klee#38
Paul Klee

Rotating house

Between observation and invention, Klee lets the form retain its power of surprise. In "Rolling House", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not completely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become a landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give recent years a new gravity, without abolishing irony. This economy of means is one of Klee's great lessons. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention is often born from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Colorful architecture, work by Paul Klee#39
Paul Klee

Colorful architecture

The painting advances in intervals, repetitions and breaks, like a score. In "Colored Architecture", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes The structure maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to the dream. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Rhythms of trees and architecture, work by Paul Klee#40
Paul Klee

Rhythms of trees and architecture

Nothing is fixed: houses, figures and plants still seem to be seeking their definitive state. In "Rhythms of Trees and Architecture", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. For the spectator, the main thing is less to identify each element than to feel their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Red-green architecture, yellow-purple gradation, work by Paul Klee#41
Paul Klee

Red-green architecture, yellow-purple gradation

Klee does not describe the world: he shows how a form begins to live. In "Red-green architecture, yellow-purple gradation", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of the trip to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The slow down. The more we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Perspective of a red-green room, work by Paul Klee#42
Paul Klee

Red-green bedroom perspective

Here, color acts as a voice and line as a thought path. In "Red-Green Chamber Perspective", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which motifs respond to each other. The image ultimately refuses to choose between story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Overview of the Old Town, work by Paul Klee#43
Paul Klee

Old Town Overview

The scene is due to a few signs, but each modifies the reading of the whole. In "Overview of the Old Town", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and covers. A work therefore always dialogues with other leaves, like a musical motif changes character over its variations. This economy of means is one of the great lessons from Klee. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention is often born from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Ascent of a Small Town, work by Paul Klee#44
Paul Klee

Rise of a small town

This image belongs to a universe where seeing, writing and listening become the same gesture. In "Ascension of a Small Town", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not completely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give recent years a new gravity, without abolishing irony. Klee unites like this rigor and freedom. The structure maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to dreams. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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In front of the city, work by Paul Klee#45
Paul Klee

In front of the city

The modesty of the format never prevents Klee from building an immense space. In "In Front of the City", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or a pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of each element than feeling their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities that explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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City in Northern Germany, work by Paul Klee#46
Paul Klee

City in North Germany

Between observation and invention, Klee lets the form retain its power of surprise. In "Northern German City", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. The painting thus invites slow down. The more we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Botanical theater, work by Paul Klee#47
Paul Klee

Botanical Theater

The painting advances in intervals, repetitions and breaks, like a score. In "Botanical Theater", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of the trip to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 19 story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Magic garden, work by Paul Klee#48
Paul Klee

Magic garden

Nothing is fixed: houses, figures and plants still seem to be seeking their definitive state. In "Magical Garden", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which motifs respond to each other. one of Klee's great lessons. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention is often born from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Bird Garden, work by Paul Klee#49
Paul Klee

Bird Garden

Klee does not describe the world: he shows how a form begins to live. In "Bird Garden", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and covers. A work therefore always dialogues with other leaves, as a musical motif changes character over its variations. Klee thus unites rigor and freedom. The structure maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to dreams. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Bluebird landscape, work by Paul Klee#50
Paul Klee

Bluebird landscape

Here, color acts like a voice and line like a thought path. In "Bluebird Landscape", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not completely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give recent years a new gravity, without abolishing irony. For the viewer, the essential it is less about identifying each element than feeling their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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III
Animals, figures and interior theater

Birds, fish, masks, angels and ghosts make up a mobile scene where humor meets worry and thought.

Falling Bird, work by Paul Klee#51
Paul Klee

Falling bird

The scene is due to a few signs, but each modifies the reading of the whole. In "Falling Bird", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or a pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant observes its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Bird That Walks Away, work by Paul Klee#52
Paul Klee

Bird moving away

This image belongs to a universe where seeing, writing and listening become the same gesture. In "Bird Who Walks Away", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. The image ultimately refuses to choosing between story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Six Fish, work by Paul Klee#53
Paul Klee

Six fish

The modesty of the format never prevents Klee from building an immense space. In "Six Fish", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention often arises from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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CC Fish, work by Paul Klee#54
Paul Klee

CC Fish

Between observation and invention, Klee lets the form retain its power of surprise. In "CC Fish", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which motifs respond to each other. Klee thus unites rigor and freedom. The structure maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to the dream. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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The Golden Fish Woman, work by Paul Klee#55
Paul Klee

The Golden Fish Woman

The painting advances in intervals, repetitions and breaks, like a score. In "The Woman of the Golden Fish", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and covers. A work therefore always dialogues with other leaves, as a musical motif changes character over its variations. For the viewer, the essential is less identifying each element than feeling their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Animal Terror, work by Paul Klee#56
Paul Klee

Animal terror

Nothing is fixed: houses, figures and plants still seem to be seeking their definitive state. In "Animal Terror", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not completely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become a landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give new gravity to recent years, without abolishing irony. The painting thus invites slow down. The more we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Animals in an enclosure, work by Paul Klee#57
Paul Klee

Animals in an enclosure

Klee does not describe the world: he shows how a form begins to live. In "Animals in an Enclosure", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gard and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Howling Dog, work by Paul Klee#58
Paul Klee

Howling dog

Here, color acts like a voice and line like a thought path. In "Howling Dog", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. This economy of means is one of the great lessons from Klee. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention often arises from limit rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Owl comedy, work by Paul Klee#59
Paul Klee

Owl comedy

The scene is due to a few signs, but each modifies the reading of the whole. In "Comedy of the Owl", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of the trip to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to the dream. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Flag mask, work by Paul Klee#60
Paul Klee

Flag mask

This image belongs to a universe where seeing, writing and listening become the same gesture. In "Flag Mask", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which motifs respond to each other. For the viewer, the essential it is less about identifying each element than feeling their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Actor mask, work by Paul Klee#61
Paul Klee

Actor mask

The modesty of the format never prevents Klee from building an immense space. In "Actor's Mask", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and covers. A work therefore always dialogues with other sheets, just as a musical motif changes character over its variations. The painting thus invites you to slow down. The more you observe its deviations, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, deviations and silences.

Discover →
Athlete's Head, work by Paul Klee#62
Paul Klee

Athlete's head

Between observation and invention, Klee lets the form retain its power of surprise. In "Athlete's Head", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not completely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give recent years a new gravity, without abolishing irony. The image ultimately refuses to choosing between story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Asian God, work by Paul Klee#63
Paul Klee

Asian god

The painting advances in intervals, repetitions and breaks, like a score. In "Asian God", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the forms appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or a pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his great lessons from Klee. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention is often born from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Portrait of an Oriental, work by Paul Klee#64
Paul Klee

Portrait of an Oriental

Nothing is fixed: houses, figures and plants still seem to be seeking their definitive state. In "Portrait of an Oriental", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. Klee thus unites rigor and freedom. The structure maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to dreams. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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The One Who Understands, work by Paul Klee#65
Paul Klee

The one who understands

Klee does not describe the world: he shows how a form begins to live. In "He Who Understands", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the forms appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of the trip to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The facades, gardens and horizons then become matrices each element than feeling their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities that explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Saint of Inner Light, work by Paul Klee#66
Paul Klee

Holy of inner light

Here, color acts as a voice and line as a path of thought. In "Saint of Inner Light", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which the motifs respond to each other. The painting thus invites slow down. The more we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Primordial couple, work by Paul Klee#67
Paul Klee

Primordial couple

The scene is due to a few signs, but each modifies the reading of the whole. In "Primordial Couple", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes seem simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and covers. A work therefore always dialogues with other sheets, like a musical motif changes character over its variations. The image ultimately refuses to choose between story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Adam and Little Eve, work by Paul Klee#68
Paul Klee

Adam and little Eve

This image belongs to a universe where seeing, writing and listening become the same gesture. In "Adam and Little Eve", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not completely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give recent years a new gravity, without abolishing irony. This economy of means is one of Klee's great lessons. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention is often born from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Actor, work by Paul Klee#69
Paul Klee

Comedian

The modesty of the format never prevents Klee from building an immense space. In "Actor", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or a pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to dreams. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Prestidigitator, magic trick, work by Paul Klee#70
Paul Klee

Prestigator, magic trick

Between observation and invention, Klee lets the form retain its power of surprise. In "Prestidigitator, magic trick", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. For the viewer, the main thing is less to identify each element than to feel their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Dance, monster, to my sweet song, work by Paul Klee#71
Paul Klee

Dance, monster, to my sweet song

The painting advances in intervals, repetitions and breaks, like a score. In "Dance, monster, on my sweet song", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of the trip to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in slow down. The more we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Ghost on the Run, work by Paul Klee#72
Paul Klee

Ghost on the run

Nothing is fixed: houses, figures and plants still seem to be seeking their definitive state. In "Ghost on the Run", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which the motifs respond to each other. The image ultimately refuses to choose between story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Ghost Room at the High Door, work by Paul Klee#73
Paul Klee

Ghost room at the high door

Klee does not describe the world: he shows how a form begins to live. In "Chamber of Ghosts at the High Door", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and covers. A work therefore always dialogues with other leaves, as a musical motif changes character over its variations. This economy of means is one of the great lessons from Klee. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention is often born from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Candidate Angel, work by Paul Klee#74
Paul Klee

Candidate angel

Here, color acts like a voice and line like a thought path. In "Candidate Angel", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not completely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give the last few years a new gravity, without abolishing irony. Klee thus unites rigor and freedom. There structure maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to the dream. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Under the Angel's Guard, work by Paul Klee#75
Paul Klee

Under the angel's care

The scene is due to a few signs, but each modifies the reading of the whole. In "Under the Angel's Guard", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or a pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. K to identify each element rather than feeling their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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IV
Growths, music and abstraction

Plants, grids, fugues and signs show Klee at work: inventing visual laws capable of remaining free, sensitive and poetic.

Family of Flowers V, work by Paul Klee#76
Paul Klee

Flower family V

This image belongs to a universe where seeing, writing and listening become the same gesture. In "Family of Flowers V", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. The painting thus invites slow down. The more we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Growth of nocturnal plants, work by Paul Klee#77
Paul Klee

Growth of nocturnal plants

The modesty of the format never prevents Klee from building an immense space. In "Growth of Nocturnal Plants", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1 story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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This flower is about to wither, work by Paul Klee#78
Paul Klee

This flower is about to wither

Between observation and invention, Klee lets the form retain its power of surprise. In "This flower is about to fade", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which the motifs respond to each other. This economy of means is one of Klee's great lessons. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention is often born from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Fruits on red, work by Paul Klee#79
Paul Klee

Fruits on red

The painting advances in intervals, repetitions and breaks, like a score. In "Fruits on Red", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and covers. A work therefore always dialogues with other leaves, as a musical motif changes character over the course of its variations. Klee thus unites rigor and freedom. There structure maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to the dream. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Autumn Flower, work by Paul Klee#80
Paul Klee

Autumn flower

Nothing is fixed: houses, figures and plants still seem to be seeking their definitive state. In "Autumn Flower", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not completely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give recent years a new gravity, without abolishing irony. For the viewer, the main thing is less to identify each element than to feel their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Plant in late autumn, work by Paul Klee#81
Paul Klee

Plant in late autumn

Klee does not describe the world: he shows how a form begins to live. In "Plant in Late Autumn", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gard we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Robust plants, work by Paul Klee#82
Paul Klee

Robust plants

Here, color acts as a voice and line as a thought path. In "Robust Plants", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. The image ultimately refuses to choose between story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Cactus, work by Paul Klee#83
Paul Klee

Cactus

The scene is due to a few signs, but each modifies the reading of the whole. In "Cactus", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention is often born from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Cosmic composition, work by Paul Klee#84
Paul Klee

Cosmic composition

This image belongs to a universe where seeing, writing and listening become the same gesture. In "Cosmic Composition", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the forms appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the forms; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which motifs respond to each other. Klee thus unites rigor and freedom. The structure maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to dreams. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Color table (Qu. 1), work by Paul Klee#85
Paul Klee

Color table (Qu. 1)

The modesty of the format never prevents Klee from constructing an immense space. In "Table of Colors (Qu. 1)", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and covers. A work therefore always dialogues with other sheets, as a musical motif changes character over its variations. For the viewer, the essential is less to identify each element rather than feeling their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Study of chiaroscuro, work by Paul Klee#86
Paul Klee

Study of chiaroscuro

Between observation and invention, Klee lets the form retain its power of surprise. In "Study of Chiaroscuro", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not completely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give new gravity in recent years, without abolishing irony. The painting invites this to slow down. The more we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Horizon, zenith and atmosphere, work by Paul Klee#87
Paul Klee

Horizon, zenith and atmosphere

The painting advances in intervals, repetitions and breaks, like a score. In "Horizon, zenith and atmosphere", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or a pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular to choose between story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Around the core, work by Paul Klee#88
Paul Klee

Around the core

Nothing is fixed: houses, figures and plants still seem to be seeking their definitive state. In "Around the Core", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become a landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. This economy of means is one great lessons from Klee. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention is often born from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Abstract trio, work by Paul Klee#89
Paul Klee

Abstract trio

Klee does not describe the world: he shows how a form begins to live. In "Abstract Trio", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of the trip to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to dreams. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Highlight, work by Paul Klee#90
Paul Klee

Highlight

Here, color acts like a voice and line like a thought path. In "Point d’orgue", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which patterns respond to each other. For the viewer, the essential is less to identify each element rather than feeling their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Red escape, work by Paul Klee#91
Paul Klee

Red fugue

The scene is due to a few signs, but each modifies the reading of the whole. In "Red Fugue", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or a pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and covers. A work therefore always dialogues with other sheets, as a musical motif changes character over its variations. The painting thus invites you to slow down. The more you observe its deviations, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, deviations and silences.

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Bad orchestra, work by Paul Klee#92
Paul Klee

Bad orchestra

This image belongs to a universe where seeing, writing and listening become the same gesture. In "Bad Orchestra", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not completely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give recent years a new gravity, without abolishing irony. The image ultimately refuses to choose between story and abstraction. It preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Large room for singers, work by Paul Klee#93
Paul Klee

Large room for singers

The modesty of the format never prevents Klee from building an immense space. In "Great Hall for Singers", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes great lessons from Klee. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention is often born from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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In memory of a female orchestra, work by Paul Klee#94
Paul Klee

In memory of a female orchestra

Between observation and invention, Klee lets the form retain its power of surprise. In "In Memory of a Female Orchestra", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. Klee unites thus rigor and freedom. The structure maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to dreams. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

Discover →
Public duel, work by Paul Klee#95
Paul Klee

Public duel

The painting advances in intervals, repetitions and breaks, like a score. In "Public Duel", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. The experience of the trip to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1914 reinforces his attention to light and chromatic chords. The experience of traveling to Tunisia in 1 to identify each element rather than feeling their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Power of the Giant, work by Paul Klee#96
Paul Klee

Power of the giant

Nothing is fixed: houses, figures and plants still seem to be seeking their definitive state. In "Power of the Giant", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. An accomplished musician and attentive reader of poetry, Klee thinks of painting in terms of tempo, polyphony and variation. This culture explains the precision with which the motifs respond to each other. The painting invites this to slow down. The more we observe its gaps, its transparencies and its rhythms, the more its primary simplicity reveals itself to be constructed, scholarly and deeply poetic. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Law, work of Paul Klee#97
Paul Klee

Law

Klee does not describe the world: he shows how a form begins to live. In "Law", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where the forms appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Its immense production proceeds in series, families of shapes and covers. A work therefore always dialogues with other leaves, like a musical motif changes character over its variations. The image ultimately refuses to choose between story and abstraction. She preserves the memory of reality while showing how painting can invent its own laws. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Inscription, work by Paul Klee#98
Paul Klee

Registration

Here, color acts like a voice and line like a thought path. In "Inscription", lines, planes and signs construct a small visual theater where shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not completely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. After his forced departure from Germany in 1933, visual writing often thickens. Black bars and monumental figures give recent years a new gravity, without abolishing irony. This economy of means is one of the great ones lessons from Klee. With few forms, it produces several levels of reading and reminds us that invention often arises from limits rather than abundance. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Historic site, work by Paul Klee#99
Paul Klee

Historic site

The scene is due to a few signs, but each modifies the reading of the whole. In "Historical Site", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The shapes appear simple because they have been reduced to their essential energy. A circle becomes a star or an eye, an arrow indicates a movement, a grid can be a wall, a garden or pure rhythm. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. Klee knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the avant-gardes of his time while maintaining a singular position. He knows the maintains the image, while accidents, signs and changes of scale keep it available to the dream. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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Monument in a cemetery, work by Paul Klee#100
Paul Klee

Monument in a cemetery

This image belongs to a universe where seeing, writing and listening become the same gesture. In "Monument in a Cemetery", lines, plans and signs construct a small visual theater where the shapes appear both recognized and newly invented. The contours do not entirely close the shapes; they connect, cross or extend them. This continuous movement allows a face to become landscape and an architecture to take on the appearance of an organism. At the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, Klee analyzes the passages between point, line, plane, movement and color. His classes nourish the work without reducing it to a theoretical demonstration. For the viewer, the main thing is less to identify each element than to feel their metamorphoses. The work remains open, exact and playful: three qualities which explain its lasting place in the history of modern art. Its presence is fully discovered when the eye compares rhythms, gaps and silences.

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What the ranking reveals

Three forces behind the images

Klee gives the simplest forms a complex life: rhythm, metamorphosis and interval act together.

01

Transform

A line can become path, face or melody without ceasing to be visible as a line.

02

Grant

Colors advance by neighborhoods, contrasts and repetitions rather than by imitation.

03

Suggest

The signs open up several stories and leave the viewer an active part.

A life between music and painting

Five benchmarks to follow Paul Klee

1879Born near Bern

Raised in a family of musicians, Klee hesitated for a long time between the violin and the visual arts.

1914Discover Tunisia

The light of Tunis, Hammamet and Kairouan deepens his understanding of color.

1921Teaching at the Bauhaus

In Weimar then Dessau, he developed a major pedagogy of form and movement.

1933Return to Switzerland

Dismissed from his post in Düsseldorf by the Nazi regime, he settled in Bern.

1940Paint to the end

Despite the illness, his latest works gain in scale, gravity and freedom.

Klee in depth

Painting as genesis, rhythm and metamorphosis

Trained in Munich at the turn of the century, Klee began with drawing, satire and engraving. Color gradually established itself, nourished by encounters with the avant-gardes and by the Tunisian trip of 1914.

With the Blaue Reiter, he shares the idea that painting should not copy the visible. However, his works almost never give up on the world: they retain an animal, a house, a plant or a face, then follow their transformation.

Music provides an essential model. Violinist, Klee constructed by themes, counterpoints, repetitions and intervals. Polyphony and Red Fugue are not decorative metaphors: they show how several colored voices can remain autonomous while forming a whole.

At the Bauhaus, his courses analyze the point that sets in motion to become line, the growth of shapes and chromatic balances. This rigor does not confine the work: it gives it the necessary conditions to accommodate accident and imagination.

The titles play a decisive role. Often given after execution, they direct the gaze without resolving the image. Chirping machine, Fish Magic or The One Who Understands open a mental scene where humor remains close to worry.

After 1933, the forced return to Switzerland and illness changed the gesture. The black signs become thicker, the figures more monumental. Angelus Novus then finds a late echo in the angels, the masks and Death and Fire: passing images which remain intensely alive.

Four reading keys

How to look at a work by Klee

Start by following a line, then observe how the color changes its movement.

Line

Follow the route

The outline often connects several identities: road, branch, body, writing or melody.

Color

Listen to the chords

The tones respond to each other like voices, through proximity, contrast and variation.

Sign

Leave the meaning open

Letters, arrows, eyes and stars suggest reading without imposing a single code.

Matter

Look at the support

Paper, gauze, coating and jute keep the concrete memory of manufacturing.

Works and institutions

Continue after the hundredth work

Collections and museums bring masterpieces closer to the series, notebooks, courses and experiences that surround them.

Frequently asked questions

Paul Klee, between sign, color and music

Essential landmarks on the Bauhaus, Tunisia, abstraction and major museums.

What is Paul Klee's most famous work?

Ad Parnassum, Angelus Novus, Chirping Machine, Fish Magic and The Golden Fish are among his best-known images. Their diversity sums up his art of color, sign and metamorphosis.

Why is Paul Klee important in art history?

Klee renewed the relationship between figuration and abstraction. His works and teaching at the Bauhaus show how point, line, color, rhythm and movement can produce an autonomous visual language.

Was Paul Klee an abstract painter?

His work crosses abstraction without abandoning figures. Pisces, cities, plants, faces and signs remain recognizable, but they obey poetic logic rather than faithful imitation of reality.

What role does music play in Paul Klee?

A violinist, Klee often thinks in terms of polyphony, tempo and variation. Its colorful grids, repetitions of motifs and musical titles invite you to look at an image as you listen to a score.

Why is the trip to Tunisia decisive for Klee?

In 1914, the light and architecture of Tunis, Hammamet and Kairouan strengthened his understanding of color. Travel impressions will continue to nourish its towns and gardens for years to come.

Where to see the main works of Paul Klee?

The Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern retains the most important collection. Other masterpieces include the MoMA, the Kunstmuseum Basel, the Guggenheim, Philadelphia, Hamburg, Essen and Jerusalem.

Why are there so many angels and signs in his work?

Angels, arrows, letters and simplified faces allow Klee to explore intermediate states: becoming, passage, memory, irony or worry. They do not form a fixed code, but an open alphabet.

How to choose a reproduction of a work by Klee?

The square compositions and colorful grids bring a calm rhythm, while the figures and landscapes create a narrative focus. The choice depends above all on the desired harmony between palette, format and atmosphere.

The ranking ends, the movement continues

Paul Klee: a hundred works to see forms become

From Parnassus to the last angels, these images show that a line, color or sign can contain a city, music and an entire thought.

Explore reproductions of Paul Klee

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