[IDES 131] Paul Klee and his influence on the design world

Who was he?

Originally born into a musician family, Paul Klee came to be a famous German-Swiss painter that was inspired by the Expressionist, Cubist and Surrealist movements. His love for the creative arts stemmed from his surrounding while growing up and although he was talented in music as early as 11, he did not pursue it as he did painting.

 “I didn’t find the idea of going in for music creatively particularly attractive in view of the decline in the history of musical achievement.”

Paul Klee

His main reason for gearing towards visual arts was that he had passion and motivation to create, whereas with music, he didn’t think there was anything “new” he could discover or achieve. However, even though he left the world of music physically, it stayed with him in spirit and in his art as it was a significant part of his childhood.

Although he’s most famously known for his involvement in the Bauhaus, as well as his book “Writings on Form and Design Theory”, his most notable achievement was mastering color theory, despite struggling with it significantly early on in his life.

Where did he spend most of his life?

He was born on December 18, 1879 in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland. His family moved to Bern a year later. He studied fine arts in Munich and moved to Italy after earning his degree to study the old masters in an attempt to better understand the concept of color. His struggle with color continued during this time which led him to move back to Bern to live with his parents.

In 1914, a fateful trip to Tunisia sparked a vibrant epiphany within Klee, however, that vibrancy was then overwhelmed by the bleakness of the Great War. He mostly painted camouflage on planes for the war effort, but his lack of presence in the grit of battle did not prevent the war from impacting his life negatively. He suffered the loss of dear companions and dedicated paintings to his fallen comrades.

He was invited to join the Bauhaus in 1920 and after the Bauhaus, he taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Düsseldorf from 1931 to 1933. He was fired from his teaching position at the academy as his art was deemed “degenerate” by the Nazis. He spent the next few years painting the world around him in color until he died due to illness in Locarno, Switzerland in 1940. He was later buried in his childhood town, Bern thanks to his sons.

What did he do?

He revolutionized the way color was used in painting and design. Although he faced many challenges with tackling the broad concept, he later came to “possess” it and master it as a skill. He detached color from its physical origin and applied it in a different, experimental way to create harmony.

He went on to create paintings vibrant in hue and taught his knowledge of color in the Bauhaus and Academy of Fine Arts in Düsseldorf. His pieces were often melancholic in nature as he faced despair time and time again in his life. His earlier pieces, like the “Flower Myth” and “Cosmic Composition”, have a dark tone to them. They most likely represent his grief and loss as they were painted during World War I.

His style continues to mature as he learns more about controlling color and form in his paintings. He gains more structure in his pieces and becomes inspired by the art movements that occurred around him, such as Cubism. One of his notable pieces during this time was “A Young Lady’s Adventure”.

One of his final pieces before he died was “Death and Fire”. He took the word “Death” in German, which is Tod, and created a figure out of it. He then placed the figure in a blazing fire of deep oranges.

What was that period of time like?

He was from a middle class family and his childhood was immersed in music and its beauty. However, once he grew to be an adult his surroundings shifted for the worst.

Klee lived through World War I and II but never saw the second end. He lost his companions in World War I and was discriminated as a degenerate artist when the Nazis rose to power. He watched the world collapse twice and had to flee his home when the second war struck. It was a time of economic and emotional despair for all, which came to impact his work significantly.

Personal thoughts:

Personally, I found myself in awe of Klee’s work, especially the “Flower Myth”. His paintings were heavily influenced by the events that occurred in his life and that’s an aspect that resonates with me. He painted to cope with his sorrows and failures, yet also came to master color and form while doing so. He used his exploration to fully express his emotions and that’s why I think his paintings are so powerful.

Sources:

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/klee/hd_klee.htm

https://www.paulklee.net/

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/klee-paul/artworks/

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/paul-klee-1417