一幅畫的問題

Paul Klee
Born Munchenbuchsee, Switzerland 1879; died Muralto, Switzerland 1940

Swiss-born Paul Klee lived in Germany for most of his life after studying in Munich. His early work consisted of etchings that showed an Expressionist influence as well as an element of fantasy, which he discovered in Blake and Beardsley. He began teaching at the Bauhaus in 1906 and was an inspirational and influential teacher. He also produced many theoretical volumes, including Pedagogical Sketchbook (1923). From 1911 Klee was associated with the Blue Four, namely Kandinsky, Feininger and Jawlensky. In 1914 he went to Tunisia with Macke and this visit, combined with his contact with Cubism and Robert Delaunay, was instrumental in changing his work. From then on, his work relied on a subtle and meditative arrangement of colour. Stylistically he moved freely between figuration and abstraction, the constant theme of his prodigious output being his feel for improvisation and re-invention. His sensitive, fluid and often witty paintings drew upon his love of primitive art, folk painting and children’s drawings. The Rose Garden (1920) is comprised of an abstract architecture of coloured shapes. The delicate, tonal variations make up a prism through which the visible world is made remote.