klee

Paul Klee (December 18, 1879 – June 29, 1940) was a Swiss painter and graphic artist whose work spanned several modernist movements, including Expressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism. Born in Münchenbuchsee near Bern, he produced thousands of works in a wide range of media, and is considered one of the most original and influential artists of the 20th century. His art is noted for its inventive use of line, color, and symbol, often combining childlike simplicity with complex structure.

Klee studied at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts and later moved among European avant-garde circles. He is associated with the Blaue Reiter group and, more prominently, with his tenure at the Bauhaus in Weimar, where he taught from 1921 to 1931. At Bauhaus he contributed to teaching approaches that integrated theoretical ideas about color with practical painting and design, influencing generations of students. The rise of the Nazi regime in the 1930s led to his dismissal from the Bauhaus and the denunciation of his work as degenerate art; he left Germany for Switzerland in the mid-1930s and died there in 1940.

Klee’s mature works combine geometric forms, calligraphic lines, and a lyrical use of color to explore rhythm, memory, and imagination. His imagery ranges from abstract grids and schematic figures to dreamlike scenes that convey mood through color and gesture. Notable works include Senecio (1922), Twittering Machine (1922), and Ad Parnassum (1930–32), which illustrate his ability to convey complex ideas with simplicity of form.

Today, Klee’s paintings and drawings are housed in major museums worldwide, and his writings on form and color have influenced both modern art and art education.