Paul Klee

Curt Valentin, Berlin/New York
Alex Vömel, Düsseldorf
Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Paris
The Mayor Gallery, London
Nika Hulton, London
Galerie Karl Flinker, Paris
Galerie Beyeler, Basel (until 1987)
Dr. Ewald Rathke Kunsthandel, Frankfurt (as from 1987)
Fondazione Antonio Mazzotta, Milan
Private collection, Italy

Amsterdam, Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme, 1938, no. 60
London, The Mayor Gallery, Drawings by Paul Klee, 1952, no. 13
London, Tate Gallery; York, City Art Gallery & Chicago, The Arts Club, Works by Paul Klee from the Collection of Mrs. Edward Hulton, 1955-56, no. 34
Wuppertal, Kunst und Museumverein; Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen; Frankfurt, Frankfurter Kunstverein; Munich, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus & Dortmund, Museum an Ostwall, Sammlung Sir Edward und Lady Hulton, London, 1964-65, no. 98
Zurich, Kunsthaus, Sammlung Sir Edward und Lady Hulton, London, 1967-68, no. 100
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Klee, "Kunst ist ein Schöpfungsgleichnis", 1973, no. 63
Paris, Galerie Karl Flinker, Klee. 74 oeuvres de 1908 à 1940, 1974, no. 51
Cologne, Kunsthalle, Paul Klee. Das Werk der Jahre 1919-1933. Gemälde, Handzeichnungen, Druckgraphik, 1979, no. 358
Charleroi, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Panorama de l'oeuvre de Paul Klee, 1980, no. 85
Tokyo, Nanteshi Gallery, Paul Klee, 1980
Madrid, Fundación Juan March, Klee. Oleos, acuarelas, dibujos y grabados, 1981, no. 65
Paris, Galerie Karl Flinker, Paul Klee. les dix dernières années, 1985, no. 16
Venice, Cà Pesaro & Milan, Palazzo Reale, Paul Klee nelle collezioni private, 1986, no. 129
Verona, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea du Palazzo Forti, Paul Klee, 1992, no. 223
Milan, Fondazione Antonio Mazzotta, Il disegno del nostro secolo. Da Klimt a Wols, 1994, no. 111
Bologna, Museo Morandi, Paul Klee. Figure e metamorfosi, 2000-2001, no. 97
 

Max Huggler, Paul Klee. Die Malerei als Blick in den Kosmos, Stoccarda, 1969, p. 131
Jürg Spiller, Paul Klee. Unendliche Naturgeschichte. Prinzipielle Ordnung der bildnerischen Mittel verbunden mit Naturstudium, und lonstruktive Kompositionswege. Form une Gestaltungslehre, Basel/Stuttgart, 1970
Sadao Wada, Paul Klee and his Travels, Tokyo, 1979, no. 365
Andrew Kagan, Paul Klee. Art & Music, Ithaca/London, 1983, illustrated p. 125
Philippe Comte, Paul Klee, Paris, 1989, illustrated
The Paul Klee Foundation, Museum of Fine Arts, Berne, Paul Klee. Catalogue raisonné. Volume 6, 1931-1933, Berne, 2002, no. 6335, illustrated p. 412

Executed on cream laid paper, not laid down, attached intermittently to the artist's mount and floating in the artist's mount. Sheet: The artist's mount is taped in two places to the overmount. The edges are deckled. The sheet is undulating. Mount: There are some abrasion and some associated glue remnants visible along the left edge, probably from previous mounting. The mount is light stained and there are faint spots of foxing in places. This work is in overall good condition.
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In 1933, the year he painted SteinWüste (Stone Desert), Klee moved to Germany permanently. Five years later, in 1928, he made a long trip to Egypt. In 1931, he explored Sicily, the sites and ruins of Palermo, Agrigento, and Syracuse .... From these travels Klee brought back sketchbooks that he frequently consulted.  

A year beforehand in 1932, the Bauhaus school in Dessau was closed down. Nazi fervour grew. As Klee foresaw, attacks against modern art, and against his art in particular, became increasingly virulent.

Originating from the collections of the two most important dealers of modern art in Germany and France, that of Alex Vömel and Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, SteinWüste is a major work from Klee's career. Of unprecedented chromatic sobriety and painterly density, awash with transparencies, this work mingles memories of Klee's travels with his inner world, where the desert of war is outlined against beauty.