Paul Klee, born in Switzerland of German origin, 1879 – 1940
I received an advert for the Paul Klee exhibition at Tate Modern, London. I always liked the subtle tonality of Paul Klee’s paintings, and I was immediately curious what kind of drawings he may have made. A brief Google image search brought up wonderful paintings, and some with the very characteristic, childlike linear elements. There were also pure line drawings on white background, with a very abstract and almost surrealist appearance. I was attracted by the great contrast of the mature Paul Klee’s approach, compared to the observational, representational skills focused approach of the drawing course.
They’re biting (1920) and Fata Morgana at sea (1918)
One of the works I found reminded me immediately of Edvard Munch’s 1883 “The scream” (Der Schrei). And indeed, it’s topic was fear: “The outbreak of fear III” (Angstausbruch III), created 1939 at the outset of World War II.
A very early drawing shows the artist’s study (1896), drawn when Paul Klee was 17. It seems to breath the times – the beginning of the 20th century, before modern times began.
Sources
Paul Klee: Meine Bude (the artist’s study) (1896) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Klee
Wikipaintings: http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/paul-klee
Fish painting: They’re biting http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/klee-theyre-biting-n05658 (17 October 2013)
Angstausbruch III (1939) and Fata Morgana at Sea (1918) from http://arttattler.com/archivepaulklee.html
Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Klee