Paul Klee Centennial: Prints and Transfer Drawings

Paul Klee Centennial PRINTS AND TRANSFER PR AWTM1S

jk f i-Vioo JJBRARYJ ' Museumcf !,; &:n : Rail h lee Centennial PRINTS AND TRANSFER DRAWINGS

January8 - April3, 1979 TheMuseum of ModernArt, New York /hclui/C tit? ft i j iSj T>

Trusteesof The Museumof ModernArt WilliamS. Paley,Chairman of the Board;Gardner Cowles, Mrs.Bliss Parkinson, David Rockefeller, ViceChairmen; Mrs. John D. Rockefeller3rd, President;Mrs. Frank Y. Larkin,Donald B. Marron, JohnParkinson III, Vice Presidents; John ParkinsonIII, Treasurer; Mrs. L. vA.Auchincloss, EdwardLarrabee Barnes, Alfred H. Barr,Jr.,* Mrs.Armand P. Bartos,Gordon Bunshaft, Shirley C. Burden,William A.M. Burden, Thomas S. Carroll, FrankT. Cary, IvanChermayeff, Mrs. C. Douglas Dillon,Gianluigi Gabetti, PaulGottlieb, George HeardHamilton, Wallace K. Harrison,*Mrs. Walter Hochschild,*Mrs. John R. Jakobson,Philip Johnson, Mrs.Frank Y. Larkin,Ronald S. Lauder,John L. Loeb, RanaldH. Macdonald,*Mrs. G. Macculloch Miller,*J. IrwinMiller,* S. I. Newhouse,Jr., RichardE. Oldenburg,Peter G. Peterson,Gifford Phillips,Nelson A. Rockefeller,*Mrs. Albrecht Saalfield,Mrs. Wolfgang Schoenborn,* Martin E. Segal,Mrs. Bertram Smith, James Thrall Soby,* Mrs.Alfred R. Stern,Mrs. Donald B. Straus,Walter N. Thayer,R.L.B. Tobin, EdwardM.M. Warburg,* Mrs.Clifton R. Wharton,Jr., MonroeWheeler,* John HayWhitney* * HonoraryTrustee Ex Officio EdwardI. Koch, Mayorof the Cityof New York; HarrisonJ. Goldin,Comptroller of the Cityof New York.

. Frontcover: VulgarComedy (1922)

2 PAULKLEE CENTENNIAL: PRINTS AND TRANSFERDRAWINGS

The graphicwork of PaulKlee reveals in itsdiversity a complexnetwork of interlockingthemes realized throughinventive working methods. His intricate visualvocabulary was evolvedthroughout a lifetime in whichhe conceivedand pursuedideas relating to time, music,science, and philosophy.Klee's journey "with in"-- by whichhe examinedhis own thoughtprocesses as an aid to renderingthem visible -- is registered in coDiousnotations in diariesand letters,later to takeform as theoreticalwritings oublished during hisdecade at theBauhaus in Weimarand Dessau. Bornto a Germanfather and Swissmother in 1879near Bern,Switzerland, in the smalltown of Munchenbuch- see,Klee grew up amidstthe tensions of twocultures in a musicians'household. Music remained a solid influencethroughout his life,as seenin the rhythmic undulationof line(at times figures and abstract passagesare representedby bandsof parallellines whichsuggest music notations) and in the serialver sionsof themesthat appear in hiswork like repeated yet alteredmelodic passages. In a diaryentry Klee stated:"In my eyes,the engravings lie before me as a complicatedOpus One." In 1905he stated:"More and moreparallels between music and thegraphic arts forcethemselves upon my consciousness." Kleefirst became interested in printmakingtech niquesduring the summer of 1899when he met Walter Ziegler,who showedhim his printmaking workshop in Burghausen.In a letterto hismother he wrote:"And nowcomes the most important thing: I havemet a well knownetcher^named Ziegler. He hasseen my sketch bookand he immediatelyinvited me to comesee him. He'wantsto tellme themost important things about etchingand aquatint " AlthoughKlee's prints representa small percentage of hisoeuvre of more than8,000 works, his analysis of graphicprocesses helpedto instilla tastefor technicalexperimen tationand expansionof the limitsof allmedia. The transferprocess, a formof monotypeprocedure whichhe developedin 1919as a meansof transferring a drawingonto another piece of drawingpaper or lithographictransfer paper, was bornout of early graphicexperimentation and a willingnessto take risks.^ In a notewritten on September1, 1902,Klee said:"Today I madea niceexperiment. I covereda glassplate witha layerof asphalt;with a needle,I rew linesinto it, which I was thenable to copy photographically.The resultresembles an engraving." The firstetchings on copperand zinc(Klee preferred workingon zincbecause of thequality of lineit pro duced)_reflect _the influenceof a tightformalist academictraining at the ErwinKnirr School and the MunichArt Academy, where he workedfrom life models and fromnature. However, his studyof humananatomy gaveway to therendering of grotesquesatirical imagesrooted partly in lifeand partly in theimagin ation- Exaggeratedanatomical details are drawnand etchedwith the same meticulous detail as inanimate objects,as in themerging of a treeand humanform in ,,the 903), nnnr? in Tree O and The Herowith the Winn (1905).He notedin 1905:"Insight: Ihe new art does not formfrom objects but feelingsfor objects and withobjects. The end of theOld Master School. The artistdoes not produce nature herself, but ratherthe aw of nature."His inventionof fantasticspectral nguresdemonstrates his admirationfor thework of FranciscoGoya and WilliamBlake. The fantasydraws fromlife its parody of theaesthetic taste and social moresof theperiod. AlthoughKlee utilized aquatint as a meansof augment ingthe surface and tonalqualities of hisetchinqs he movedtowards a sugarlift etching process as a meansof creatinga moredynamic, textured linear 9?:+u(In rocess II?H P a mixtureof sugar,water, and lithographicink is usedto drawupon a copperor zincetching plate. Asphaltum is appliedover the entireplate which is thenplaced in waterand the lftSPPlied ] areaS of the a asphaltum.) he liftingof an area,whether accidental or in tentional,and the falsebiting of theplate, as well subtleuse of platetone (that is, leavinga thin

filmof inkover the unbittenareas when wiping the plate),turned Klee's efforts away from the more tightlycontrolled image and surface of hisearlier etchings.Examples of thesurface quality rendered in thesugar lift process may be seenin Two Nudes ! (1907),The Drinker(1910), Height (1928),and Tl931Prickle,the Clown~ ). Additionalexperimentation withthe intaglioprocess included developing a tech niqueof drypointon celluloid:a softer drypoint lineis createdwith ink feathering out fromthe core, as canbe seenin Pergola(1910), and Railroad Station0911). Hand-printingplates that he worked likea woodblockrather than an etchingmay havebeen an earlylink to Klee'slater development of an oil transferprocess for his drawingsand prints.In a diarynotation of 1907Klee wrote about a hand-printed etchingof whichfew proofs were pulled, "... a zinc plateworked [etched] under heavy pressure. It is an exampleof thestyle of oldwoodcuts. I was ableto makea fewprints of it by hand. It is notetched deeplyenough for the press. I was ableto makethe printappealing by coloring[it]." Concurrentwith his experiments, Klee developed his themesthrough_numerous versions in differentmedia. Theearly physiognomical allegorical etchings were eachpreceded by a meticulouslyrendered drawing, a ,Never processhe was to continue.( Endingan etching of 1930,corresponds to a penciland pen-and-inkdraw ing;the transferlithograph Vulgar Comedy was pre cededby a crayondrawing). Klee developed the oil- tracingtransfer method in 1919,after having served twoyears in WorldWar I. Glimmersof thepossibil itiesof the transferprocess are seenin an early . lithographof 1912,At theWindow Therethe imageis drawnon thestone, over which Klee imposed texturingby meansof a transferprocess. In Comedy of (1918),Klee's fingerprints, used as a com positionalelement, are clearlytransferred in the lowerright of the image,while the ghosts of other transferredimages flicker around the centralaxis of thecomposition. In Klee'sinnovative method, tracing paperwas transformedinto a typeof carbonpaper by paintingone sidewith printer's ink or oil paint.The 6 drawing(or model of a drawing)was placedon topand meticulouslytraced with a needle.Simultaneously a pieceof drawingpaper or lithographictransfer paper was placedunder the painted surface to receivethe drawing.The pressureof hishand left an impression of theweave of thepaper, making visible the paper's surfacequalities (Klee could intentionally rub the surfaceor accidentallytransfer surface texture monotypically"to the paper).The Twittering Machine (1922)was drawnby thistransfer method and augmented withwatered or andpen and ink. (Kleeis saidto haveinvented a mechanicalcontraption he calleda "twitteringmachine"). The Tightrope Walker (1923), a colorlithograph, was alsomade by thismethod, in whichthe imagewas transferredto lithographictrans ferpaper and thenrun through the press to transfer the imageto thestone. The finalprinted image appearsin thesame order as thedrawing, and notas a mirrorimage. The edges and surface area of the tracing-papertransfer image, smaller than the over allsize of thestone and sheet,add a simultaneous, accidental,"compositional note. Kleewas invitedto jointhe facultyof the Bauhausin 1921as Masterof Form. Duringhis tenurehe worked withstudents in workshopson stainedglass, weaving, painting,and bookbinding.This opportunity permitted himaccess to the Bauhausprint workshop and to work alongsideartists whose ideas were compatible, such as LyonelFeininger (with whom he sharedan interestin music)and Kandinsky(whom he met in 1911during his involvementwith Blaue Reiter activities in Munich), andwith others whose ideas differed from his own, suchas WalterGropius and Oskar Schlemmer. "I wel comedthe fact that forces so diverselyinspired are workingtogether at our Bauhaus,"he wrote. "I approveof theconflict between them if theeffect is evidentin thefinal product. To tacklean obstacle is a goodtest of strength,if it is a realobstacle ....On thewhole, there is no suchthing as a right or a wrong;the work lives and developsthrough the interplayof opposingforces, just as in naturegood and badwork together productively in the longrun."

7 CuriouslyKlee's work remained hermetic, self- contained,detached from the direct influence of modernisttendencies, represented by expressionism, cubism,constructivism, dada or surrealism.His absorptionof modernisttenets was moreon a sublim inal.plane, such as his interestin multidimensional simultaneityof vision -- seeingaspects of an object, visibleand not visible.Some of theseconcepts were alsoheld by thecubists and futurists.The influence of Parisiancubist compositional mapping appears brieflyin someof his lithographs,such as Destruc- tionand Hope (1916). Kleecreated his own dialectic,a universal humanism, ratherthan adopting that of others.He formulatedhis ideasslowly and committed them to paperin the form of notationsand diary entries (his theoretical papers arepresently housed in the PaulKlee Stiftung, Bern, Switzerland).He thrived on literature,reading Henrik Ibsen,August Strindberg, Moliere, Oscar Wilde, and Aristophanes,among others. He attendedsymphony concertsand theopera, played violin in a string quartetand an orchestra,wrote plays with his son for theirmarionette theater. Direct visual experience impressedhim deeply. A tripto Tunisin 1914opened hismind and eye to color.The naive art of children and the insaneintrigued him. Exoticartifacts from Oceania,Asia, and Africa found in ethnographic museumsin Switzerlandand Germanyprovided immediate visualimpact, as canbe witnessedin theetching LittleWorld (1914). The humorouscombined with the eroticattracted him, as in TheArrow Before the Target(1921). " AlthoughPaul Klee's prints and transferdrawings representaspects of theartist's multifaceted work, throughthem we areprovided with keys to hisother ideasand are ableto glimpsemore immediately the sourceof theenergy which flowed through his work.

HowardenaPindell AssociateCurator TheMuseum's collection of printsand transfer drawingsby PaulKlee was acquiredthrough the generosityof manydonors and the efforts of AlfredH. Barr,Jr., founding Director of theMuseum, and WilliamS. Lieberman,Director of the Departmentof Drawings. Manymembers of thestaff have contributed to this exhibition,and I am especiallygrateful to WilliamS. Lieberman;Riva Castleman, Director, Department of Printsand IllustratedBooks; Richard L. Palmer, Directorof Exhibitions;and Tara Reddi, Curatorial Intern,Department of Printsand IllustratedBooks. TheMuseum of ModernArt gratefullyacknowledges the supportof itsexhibition program by the NewYork StateCouncil on theArts.

. TheArrow Before the Target 1921

9 CHECKLIST

Thisis a completelisting of theprints by PaulKlee in theMuseum's collections. Dates enclosed in parenthesesdo notappear on theworks themselves. Dimensionsare givenin inchesand centimeters, heightpreceding width. Compositionsize is given for lithographs,plate size for etchings, and sheet sizefor drawings, unless otherwise stated. "K" followedby a numberrefers to the definitivecatalog 1of Klee s graphicwork by E.W.Kornfeld (see Selected Bibliography).No statesare given.Works not on vieware indicatedwith an asterisk.

. ! Virginin theTree 1903. Etching,9 5/16x 0Tl 11/16"(23.7 x 29 7 cm), K4, Purchase, her TwoMen Meet, Each Believing the Other of Hig ;Rank (1903).Etching, 4 5/8x8 7/8"(11.7 x 22.6cm). K7. Giftof Mme PaulKlee. . 3. Comedian 1904. Etchingand aquatint,6 1/16x 6 5/8"(15.3 x 16.8cm). K10. Purchase. . 4. CrownMania 1904. Etchingand aquatint,6 1/4x 6 1/4"(15.9 x 15.9cm). K14. Purchase. . 5. Perseus(Wit has triumphedover pain) 1904. Etching,5x5 5/8"(12.7 x 14.3cm). KT5. Purchase. The. 60 The Herowith the Wing ( Herowith the Wing us By natureespecially endowed with a wing,he has th h formedthe ideathat he is destinedto fly,whic isy causesh deathl (1905).Etching, 10 x 6 1/4" (25.4x 15.9cm), K16. Purchase. f 7. SenilePhoenix (As symbol of theinsufficiency o ). thingshuman in timesof crisis (1905).Etchinq 10 3/8x 7 9/16"(26.3 x 19.2cm). K17. Purchase.

10 . 8. Headof Menace 1905. Etching,7 11/16x 5 3/4" (19.6x 14.6cm). K18. Purchase. . 9. TwoNudes 1907. Sugarlift etching, 4 3/4x 4 11/16"(12.0 x 11.9cm). K20. Purchase. . 10* The Friends 1909. Penand inkover monotype, 7 5/8x 9 1/2"(19.2 x 24.1cm). AlvaGimbel Fund. . 11. Drinker (1910).Sugar lift etching, 8 9/16x 6" (21.7x 15.3cm). K21. Giftof VictorS. Riesenfeld. . 12. The Pergola 1910. Drypointon celluloid, 3 13/16x 5 1/8"(9.7 x 13.0cm). K25. Giftof Curt Valentin. . 13. Sheepin the Fold 1910. Etching,2 7/8x 7/lb"(7.4 x 26.5cm). K30. Purchase. . 14. Readingin Bed 1910. Etching,5 5/8x 7" (14.3x 17.87.K31. Giftof VictorS. Riesenfeld. .- 15 Outskirtsof Munich 1910. Etching,7 3/8x 10 7/W (18.7x 26.5cm). K34. Giftof VictorS. Riesenfeld. 16. RailroadStation. 1911. Drypointon celluloid, 3/4x 7 3/4 (14.6x 19.7cm). K37. Purchase.

. 17. RiverView (1912).Lithograph, 7 3/4 x 11 1/4" (19.7x 28.6cm). K42. Purchase.

. 18= StreetChildren 1912. Lithograph,2 7/8 x 4 11/16"(7.2 x 11.9cnr). K47. Purchase.

?f!Stilts. 1912. Lithograph,3 5/8 x 0 11/16 (9.^x 9.4 cm). K48. Hi11 man Periodicals Fund. ow 20. At theWind (ShallI throwmyself out? Do I ?). wishto concealmyself in a corner W\F. Litho- graph,5 1/4x 4" (13„2x 1001 cm). K53. Purchase. 11 . 21. Garden of Passion (1913). Etching, 3 3/4 x 5 3/4" (9.5 x 14.7 cm). K56. Purchase.

. 22. Little World (1914). Etching, 5 5/8x3 3/4" (14.3 x 9.6 cm). K61. Purchase.

23. Death for an Ideal from Zeit-Echo. Munich, Graphik Verlag, (1914-1915). Lithograph, 6 5/16 x 3 3/8 (16.0 x 8.6 cm). K63. Transferred from the MuseumLibrary.

. 24. City Landscape 1915. Etching, 6 1/4 x 4 1/2" (15.9 x 11.5 cm). K64. Gift of Victor S. Riesenfeld.

-. 25 Little Castle in the Air (1915). Etchinq, 3 1/2 x 8 3/8" (8.9 x 21.2 cm). K65. Purchase.

. 26. Destruction and Hope 1916. Lithograph with watered or additions, 18 3/8 x 13" (46. 7* x 33.1 cm). K68. Purchase.

. 27. Comedy of Birds 1918. Lithograph, 16 5/8 x 8" (42.3 x 20.3 cm). K69. Purchase.

. 28. Three Heads 1919. Lithograph, 4 3/4x5 7/8" (12.1 x 14.8 cm). K70. Purchase. hner 29. Forest from Munc Blatter fur Dichtuna und aphik. Gr Munich, Georg MUller Verlag, (1919) Lithograph, 6 5/8 x 5" (16.9 x 12.6 cm). K72.' Gift of Mrs. Bertha M. Slattery.

30. Insects from Munchner Blatter fiir Dichtung und Graphik. Munich, Georg Muller Verlag, (WT9^ Lithograph with watered or additions, 8 1/4 x 6" (20.9 x 15.3 cm). K74. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Barei ss .

31- Blowing Out a Candle from Das Kestnerbuch. Hanover, Heinrich Bdhme Verlag, (1919). Lithograph, 61/4 x 5 1/16" (15.9 x 12.8 cm). K75. Gift of Victor S. Riesenfeld.

12 . 32 The End of the Last Act of a Drama 1920. Watercolor on transfer drawing, 8 1/8 x 11 3/8" (20.6 x 28.8 cm). Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Allan Roos.

. 33, Christian Sectarian (1920). Watercolor on transfer drawing, 10 1/8 x 6 5/8" (25.7 x 16,9 cm). James Thrall Soby Fund.

. 34. Giant Aphis (1920). Lithograph, 5 3/8x2 1/4" 3«7 0 x 5.7 cm). K77. Purchase.

. 33 Flower Stand (1920). Lithograph with watercolor additions, 7 1/2x5 3/8" (19.0 x 13.6 cm). K78 Purchase.

36 Fulfillment Angel. (1920). Lithograph, 7 3/4 x 3 H/16" (19.6 x 14.4 cm). K79. Purchase.

7., 3 Fulfillment Angel from Die Freude Oberfranken Wilhelm Uhde, (1920). Lithograph with watercolor additions, 7 7/8x5 3/4" (20.0 x 14.6 cm). K79. Frank Crowninshield Fund.

38° The Angler. 1921. Watercolor, pen and ink on transfer drawing, 18 7/8 x 12 3/8" (47.6 x 31.2 cm). John S. Newberry Collection.

. 39> The Arrow Before the Target 1921. Watercolor on transfer drawing, 8 3/4 x 12 3/8" (22.2 x 31.3 cm). John S. Newberry Collection.

. 4°. Queen of Hearts from Per Ararat Munich, Goltz ran*fer 67/Q®ran*fer fi V J lithograph, 10 1/16 x 67/8 (25.6 x 17.6 cm). K80. Gift of Karl Nierendorf.

.ner 41' Saint of the In Light 1921. Transfer lithograph, I I 1/4x6 1/4" (28.6 15.8 cm). K81 Purchase.

if; ^iipToT the Inner Light from Erste Mappe: Meister 1C 1Cauhauses. T I B in Weimar 1921. Transfer lithograph, printed in color, 12 1/4 x 6 7/8" (31.1 x 17.4 cm). K81. Gift of Karl Nierendorf.

rilfee ,

55. Castle in the Water. (1923). Transfer litho graph, 8x9 9/16" (20.2 x 24.4 cm). K90. Gift of Victor S. Riesenfeld.

. 56. Flight (1923). Transfer lithograph, 10 1/4 x 6 1/8 (26.0 x 15.5 cm). K91. Gift of Victor S. Riesenfeld.

. 57. * The One in Love 1923. Lithograph, 10 3/8 x 7 1/2 (26. 3 x 19.0 cm). K94. Purchase. ichen 58. The One in Love from Meistermappe des Staatl Bauhauses in Weimar. (1923j^ Transfer 1i thograph printed in color, 10 13/16 x 7 1/2" (27.4 x 19.1 cm). K94. Larry Aldrich Fund.

. 59. _ Tightrope Walker from Mappe der Gegenwart Munich, R. Piper and Co., 1923. Transfer lithograph, printed in color, 17 1/8 x 10 5/8" (43.6 x 27.0 cm). K95. Given anonymously.

60. Ass from Monatshefte fur Bucherfreunde und Graphi ksammler. Leipzig, H. Loubier, (1925). Litho graph, 9 3/8x5 3/4" (23.9 x 14.8 cm). K97. Purchase.

61 BeardedMan. 1925. Transfer lithograph, 8 5/8 x (21.9 x 15.3 cm). K98. Hillman Periodicals Fund.

. 8?- Singer of the Light Opera (1925). Transfer lithograph, 16 1/4 x 11 3/16" (41.2 x 28.4 cm). K99. Gift of Mrs. Donald B. Straus.

63. * Slavery. 1925. Gouache on transfer drawing, 10 x 14" (25.4 x 35.6 cm). Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller.

9art4i* o 1928 Su lif etching, 9 1/16 x 9 1/1 b" (23. 0 x 23.0 cm). K100. Purchase.

15 . 65. Underbrush 1928. Etching, 5 3/4x3 7/8" (14.6 x 9.7 cm). i

. 66. Juggler in April 1928. Etching, 7 1/2x7 3/4" o o (19.1 x 19.6 cm). KT03 Purchase.

. 67. Old Man Figuring (1929). Etching, 11 3/4 x 9 3/8" (29.8 x 23.8 cm). K104. Purchase.

. 68. Never Ending 1930. Sugar lift etching and aquatint, 7x5 3/8" (17.8 x 13.7 cm). K106. Purchase.

69. Untitled from L' Hommeapproximatif by Tristan Tzara. Paris, Fourcade, 1931. Etching and drypoint, 7x5 1/2" (17.8 x 13.9 cm). K107. Purchase,,

. 70= Prickle, the Clown 1931. Sugar lift etching and aquatint, 11 9/16 x 9 7/16" (29.3 x 24.0 cm). K108. Gift of Victor S. Riesenfeld.

71. Why Does He Run? (1932). Etching, 9 3/8 x n 13/16" (23.8 x 30„0 cm). K109. Purchase.

72. Plate VI from Potsdamer Platz, oder die Nachte des neuen Messi as by Curt Corrinth. Munich, Georg Mu11 er, Verlag, ("1918-1919). Photo lithograph after a drawing, page size: 8x5 1/4" (20.3 x 13.4 cm). KA113o Purchase.

16 SELECTEDBIBLIOGRAPHY

Duisburg. Wilhelm-Lehmbruck-Museum der Stadt. Paul Klee das graphische und plastische Werk (catalog) . T974. " ~ Geelhaar, C. Paul Klee and the Bauhaus. Bath, 1973 . Giedion-Welcker, C. Paul Klee T^sT by Alexander' Gode. New York, 1952. . Grohmann, W. Paul Klee New York and London, 1967. Haftmann, W. The Mind and Work of Paul Klee. New York, 1967T ~ ee' ^^ Paul Klee: His Life and Work in Documents New York, 1962. ~ on Kornfeld, E.W. Verzeichnis des graohischen Worker V . Paul Klee Bern, 1963. . Plant, Paul Klee, Figures and Faces London,

New York. The Museumof Modern Art. Paul Klee . (catalog). Introd. by A.H. Barr, Jr. 1930. Smith Pierce, J. Paul Klee and Primitive Art. New York and London, 1976.

Writings by the Artist

The Diaries ^1898^1918. Ed. with introd. by F Klee Berkeley, 1964. . Notebooks Vol.2: The Natureof Nature.Fd_ hy .1 Spiller.London, 1973. ' . On ModernArt Trans,by P. Find!ay. London,1948. chbook. PedagogicalSket Introd.and trans,by S. Moholy-Nagy.London, 1953. by_Pau1. SomePoems Klee Trans,by A. Hollo.London, 1962. TheThinking Eye: The Notebooksof PaulKlee Ed hv Spilier.London, 1961.