Art and Exhibition Hall - Exhibitions - Paul Klee in the Rhineland

• Current Exhibitions
• Past Exhibitions



	PAUL KLEE IN THE RHINELAND

Paul Klee in the Rhineland

An exhibition of the
Rhineland Regional Council
from the Rhenish Regional Museum Bonn
in the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany

prolonged until 29 June 2003

7 March until 29 June 2003

The extraordinary number of exhibitions and publications about the work of Paul Klee in recent decades, which have provided a great deal of knowledge about his work from many different perspectives, have demonstrated an exceptional appreciation of his works.
One interesting aspect in this are the years Klee spent in Düsseldorf, which have so far not been studied as a whole.

Although he did not live there for long, the works he created during his time as a lecturer at the Düsseldorf Academy from 1931 to 1933 represent a very important and clearly definable phase within his mighty oeuvre. Providing an insight into this creative period also means including the aspect of his relationship with the Rhineland in this context.


	Introduction
	Opening, Admission
	Catalogue
	Map
	Reference Collection

By means of the works which have been selected, together with the contributions in the catalogue, the exhibition “Paul Klee in the Rhineland” aims to illustrate Paul Klee’s relationship with the Rhineland. This aspect comprises both Klee’s creative work during his teaching activity at the State Art Academy in Düsseldorf as well as his reception in the Rhenish environment.

Slightly fewer than half of the approximately 120 works being exhibited come from Rhenish collections, providing an insight into Klee’s creative work in the first and the exceptionally important second decade of the last century, the time when he was active at the Bauhaus in Weimar and Dessau. Works almost exclusively in colour provide an insight into the comprehensive Haubrich, Ibach, Lange, Raemisch, Stinnes and Vowinckel Klee collections, which today are scattered in part all over the world. Some works have also been destroyed or lost, so that the idea of reconstructing one of these collections in its former scope does not appear feasible.

This series of exhibits starts with the watercolour Innenarchitektur (Interior Architecture), formerly in the Ibach collection, which was created while still under the spell of his journey to Tunis. This series represents works in which Klee moves towards an abstract presentation of visible reality in order gradually to achieve an almost abstract composition of colour fields. The tone of colour and form is the expressive element. Here the degree of abstraction or visible object reference varies considerably. The titles under the pictures present themselves as verbal similes and concluding poetic metaphors; Ankunft des Luftdampfers (Arrival of the Airsteamer), the designation of the watercolour from the Detroit Art Institute, or Versiegelte Dame (The Sealed Lady) from the Berlin State Museums, Berggruen Collection, are particularly impressive examples .

The second part is devoted to works by Klee which have a direct connection with Düsseldorf. They are pictures which recognisably reflect his departure from the Bauhaus on the one hand and the constant commuting between Dessau and Düsseldorf on the other. We find titles such as Überbrückt (Bridged), Flucht vor sich (Escape from Oneself), Bestandenes Abenteuer (Adventure Survived). In addition, there is a collection of sketches from 1932 and 1933, in which Klee deals with the political situation in sheets with titles such as Tod dem Lärm (Death to Noise), Schande (Shame), Verhext und eilig (Bewitched and in Haste) or Grausames Erlebnis (Brutal Experience).

The Düsseldorf creative period focuses on paintings and watercolours in the so-called pointillist style. Some important works were not able to travel due to their complex and extremely difficult compositional painting technique. Nevertheless, a series of outstanding works document Klee’s creations of this period. It starts with the painting Sonnenuntergang (Sunset) from the Chicago Art Institute, which leads the group of works described as pointillist or divisionist in that the original framework of the painting, still consisting of geometrical colour fields, is overlayed by a grid-like point system. This is followed by paintings such as Aufgehender Stern (Rising Star), Klassische Küste (Classical Coast) und Tänzerin (Dancer), the latter being the model for the exhibition poster and catalogue cover.

In these works the pointillist application of colour determines the whole construction of the painting. Yet the rhythm of the colour dots often appears to have integrated into it a delicate framework of lines which serves for object identification.

In selecting the exhibits, great value was placed alongside the known masterpieces not least on unknown works and their discovery. In this context works which were believed to have been lost were rediscovered. A series of works will therefore be on display which have not been exhibited in Europe for a long time – if at all. Some of the works will be exhibited for the first time.