Art News

Student Art

Artist in Focus: Paul Klee (1879–1940) 

Stage 1 and 2 have been learning about Swiss born artist, Paul Klee.  

Paul Klee was one of the most famous painters of the 20th century. His work was influenced by Expressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism. He was also very interested in the theory of colour and wrote several academic writings about his theories. When he was very young, he trained to be a violinist as both his parents were musicians. Then he decided to become an artist. He studied art under Heinrich Knirr. In 1899 he was admitted to the Academy of Fine arts in Munich. After leaving the academy he also studied art in Italy. Klee made over 10,000 paintings, drawings, and etchings in his lifetime. His works are held in museums and art galleries all over the world. 

Klee was considered an abstract painter, who was very interested in colour and line. His most famous quote was “A drawing is simply a line going for a walk.”  

His artworks combined thick, thin, straight, scribbly lines and a high contrast colour. Students in Stage 1 and 2, created an artwork inspired by one of Klee’s most famous artworks, Fish Magic (1925). This artwork is almost dreamlike, at first it seems to be an underwater painting of fish, but on closer inspection you will notice planets, people, flowers, and lines. Most of Klee’s ideas came from dreams, his love of music and his passion to explore colours.  

Paul Klee, Fish Magic (1925) Oil and watercolour on a canvas. Held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. 

 Paul Klee. Cat and Bird (1928) Oil and ink on canvas. Currently held at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.