Paul Klee

Lily Klee, Bern (by descent from the artist in 1940)
Klee-Gesellschaft, Bern (acquired from the above in 1946)
Rolf & Catherine E. Bürgi, Bern (acquired from the above in 1950)
Nachlass Rolf Bürgi, Bern (by descent from the above in 1967)
Galerie Beyeler, Basel (acquired from the above in 1969)
Peter Wurmser, Switzerland (acquired from the above in 1982)
Galerie Römer, Zurich (acquired from the above in 1988)
David Neumann, Stockholm (by 1995)
Private Collection, Sweden (acquired by 1998 and sold: Christie's, London, February 10, 2005, lot 657)
Acquired at the above sale

Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Klee-Kunst ist ein Schöpfungsgleichnis, 1973, no. 61, illustrated in the catalogue
Paris, Galerie Karl Flinker, Klee, 74 oeuvres de 1908 à 1940, 1974, no. 50
Dusseldorf, W. Wittrock Kunsthandel, Paul Klee, 1977, n.n., illustrated in the catalogue
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Stillben im 20. Jahrhundert, 1978-79, no. 41
Cologne, Kunsthalle, Paul Klee, Das Werk der Jahre 1919-1933, Gemälde, Handzeichnungen, Druckgraphik, 1979, no. 353
Charleroi, Palais des Beaux-Art, Panorama de l'oeuvre de Paul Klee, 1980, no. 80
Stockholm, National Musuem, Still leben, 1995, no. 240, illustrated in color in the catalogue p. 150
New York, Richard L. Feigen & Co. & New York, Jan Krugier Gallery, The Third Eye: Fantasies, Dreams and Visions, 2005-06, n.n.

The Paul Klee Foundation & Museum of Fine Arts, Bern, eds., Paul Klee Catalogue Raisonné 1931-1933, vol. VI, Bern, 2002, no. 5906, illustrated p. 256

Executed on wove paper which has been affixed to artist's mount at 10 points along the perimeter of the verso. The left top and right edges are lightly deckled. The mount is affixed to a window mat along the top edge of its verso. Remnants of tape from a previous mounting line the perimeter of the verso. The mount is gently timed darkened and mat stained with a light surface stain toward the top center edge. The work is in very good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present work was executed immediately following Klee's retirement from his role as an instructor at the Bauhaus, the seminal school of architecture and industrial arts. The tonal layering and the imaginative figural abstraction present here exemplify the unique iconography found in Klee's strongest works on paper. The composition relates to a group of works that Klee commenced in the summer of 1929, experimenting with superimposed or interlocking planes. As Will Grohmann writes, “The problem of space occupied Klee much more insistently in 1929. After many experiments Klee wrote in April 1930 of his hope that ‘what I have achieved in the three dimensional realm’ would become lastingly fruitful for his work. He was not alluding to the perspective or illusionistic space but to the ‘flow’ of space; ‘the goal is inward, the problem mysterious,’ he said” (Will Grohmann, Klee, New York, 1958, p. 281).

At the heart of Klee’s distinct and methodical approach was his belief that his art was a manifestation of his inner-most self. His boundless imagination and vivacious compositions became the basis for his reputation as one of the great intellectual painters of the twentieth century. According to Andrew Kagan, “Klee’s greatness as a colorist and his gifts as a draftsman embrace a truly extraordinary range and diversity. His seemingly tireless experimentation and his astounding inventiveness are among his distinctive characteristics, but they make his mature work rather difficult to grasp and understand in its entirety. Klee may seem to be everywhere at once, with the most random approaches. It must be understood that his ultimate ambitions embraced the concept of an art that would resolve all apparent contradiction, an art that would reconcile all dualities and oppositions—in other words, an art of ultimate synthesis. ‘Truth,’ he declared, ‘demands that all elements be present at once’” (Paul Klee at the Guggenheim Museum (exhibition catalogue), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1993, pp. 26-27).