Books with title The Life and Work of Paul Klee

This beautiful volume offers high-quality reproductions and the latest biographical information on Paul Klee, who helped pave the way for Modernism.Readers of this book will find much to discover and relish in Paul Klee's art. Reproductions of his iconic works as well as those that are more rarely exhibited are featured alongside in-depth biographical information that looks beyond his many artistic achievements to explore the life and times of the artist. Photographs of Klee and his circle, as well as entertaining and enlightening anecdotes, offer a multifaceted perspective on a groundbreaking artist and the events that helped shape his colorful and imaginative work.

This beautiful and affordable volume offers high-quality reproductions and the latest biographical information on Paul Klee, who helped pave the way for Modernism. Readers of this book will find much to discover and relish in Paul Klee's art. Several lavish reproductions of his iconic works, as well as those that are more rarely exhibited, are featured alongside in-depth biographical information that looks beyond his many artistic achievements to explore the life and times of the man himself. Never-before-published photographs of Klee and his circle, as well as entertaining and enlightening anecdotes, offer a multifaceted perspective on a groundbreaking artist and the events that helped shape his colorful, imaginative work.

The many books on Paul Klee (1879–1940) published over the years should not obscure the fact that there has been no new, comprehensive Klee overview since Will Grohmann’s much reprinted 1954 monograph. With Paul Klee: Life and Work, the Zentrum Paul Klee has set out to fill this gap, drawing on a wealth of new resources including the Klee family’s archives, much of which is published here for the first time. Life and work are truly integrated in this massive, 344-page volume: Klee’s vast body of work is surveyed chronologically, as the book narrates his life alongside the abundant reproductions of drawings, paintings, watercolors, sculptures, puppets and numerous archival documents and photographs (500 reproductions in total, half of which are color). The book divides Klee’s career into eight periods: “Childhood and Youth”; “Munich and the Encounter with the Avant Garde”; “World War I and the Breakthrough to Success”; “At the Bauhaus in Weimar”; “Master of Modern Art”; “The Move to Dusseldorf and the Nazi Rise to Power”; “First Years of Emigration in Bern”; and “Final Years.” The result of many years of research and labor, this magisterial publication demonstrates conclusively why Klee numbers among the most influential and best loved artists of the past 100 years.

Fitting Paul Klee's extraordinary oeuvre into book form is certainly a complex endeavor--Klee's diverse body of work is always opening itself up to new interpretations, and has escaped classification under the aegis of any particular style, group, or movement. This monograph achieves this feat by offering Klee in all his uniqueness, never attempting to subject the artist and his work to one interpretation. Here we see Klee's organically developed and open-ended art, which sought inspiration everywhere and in turn inspired so many in all areas of the arts. Fairytale lyricism and grotesque satire, tender jesting and very real horror, profound mysticism and sober romanticism all coexist in Klee's images. These works radiate a variety and creative energy that is rarely seen in such profusion. Paul Klee: Life and Work presents a comprehensive selection of paintings and other images, documented in nearly 500 color and black-and-white images, alongside essays that explore the artist's life and offer surprising insights into his work.

Sooner or later, in the course of almost any discussion about modern art, Paul Klee will be mentioned. A member of Germany's influential Bauhaus group, he was at the heart of European artistic & cultural experiment during the two world wars. Yet his work transcends simple classification. He constantly explored space line, & hue to create his own pictorial poetry & express his unique inner vision of the world. The totality of his experience & the plurality of nature were not only sources of inspiration but were combined in his paintings to create a completely new reality.

This volume is part of a new series that portrays the lives and works of some of the world's greatest artists and their influence on the world of art. Each book includes: reconstruction artwork of particular scenes from the artist's life; examples of the artist's work with text to link their life and work; life story and photographs of the artist; and a timeline.