Wetterfahne (Weathervane)

Artist Paul Klee (Swiss, 1879–1940)

Dateca. 1924

MediumWatercolor on paper

Dimensions7 1/4 x 7 7/16 inches (18.4 x 18.9 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift of Norbert Schimmel

Terms

Paintings
Watercolor
Animals
Birds
Weathervanes

Object number57.289

Label CopyBorn into a family of musicians, Klee grew up training in the same field but later turned his talents to art, though he would marry a pianist, Lily Stumpf, in 1906. His paintings, watercolors, drawings, and etchings retained a lyricism throughout his career, coupled with a natural spiritualism and a haunting capriciousness.

In 1912 Klee went to Paris and encountered cubism, as well as the bold color of Robert Delaunay and Maurice de Vlaminck. As a member of Der Blaue Reiter, he would have embraced these modern movements and it shows in his mature work. Though serving in the military during World War I, he continued to paint and in the early 1920s he began a decade of teaching bookbinding, stained glass, and mural painting at the Bauhaus.

This watercolor shows his versatility with the medium. The weathervane is whimsical and light, painted with a delicate touch.

(“Drawing the Line: 150 Years of European Artists on Paper," curated by Nancy E. Green and presented at the Johnson Museum January 20–June 10, 2018)

Collections