Gosh, what is this?!

When discovering some of Paul's paintings for the first time I'd been literally flabbergasted. At first glance I did not know whether I should like or dislike them, whether this was art or not. But then, all the same intrigued and stunned by what I saw, I gave him a chance and wandered from painting to painting in the Paul Klee part of the gallery, getting more and more fascinated by the minute. His artwork had me thinking and after a little while I recognised the deepness and complexity of his pieces and, of course, the artist himself. 
Let's have a look, shall we?

Paul Klee (1879 - 1940)
'der Teppich'
1940 (1)

(1) References: Photo of Paul Klee's The Carpet, Berggruen Museum Berlin, 2017

Paul Klee
'Stadtbild von Knossos'
1940 (2)

(2) References: Photo of Paul Klee's Image Of Knossos, Berggruen Museum Berlin, 2017

Paul Klee
'Fatales Fagott Solo'
1918 (3)

(3) References: Photo of Paul Klee's Fatal Bassoon Solo, Berggruen Museum Berlin, 2017

What do you think? Are they wonderful? Do they appear like drawings your child could do more proficient? Are they art? If yes, which movement do they belong to? If not, what are they?

Well, superficial questions like that are wrong. Paul Klee was a powerhouse when it came to colours and forms. He embraced an artistic esprit that hardly finds its equal. 

Let's try another one.

Paul Klee
'Transparenz- perspectivisch gefügt I'
1921 (4)

(4) References: Photo of Paul Klee's Transparency In Perspective, Berggruen Museum Berlin, 2017

And another set.

Paul Klee
'Traum- Stadt' 1921 (5)
'Rot- Stufung' 1921(6)
'Schleusen' 1922 (7)
'Architektur der Ebene' 1923 (8)

(5;6;7;8) References from left to right: Photos of Paul Klee's Dream City, Red Nuances, Floodgates, Architecture Of The Plain, Berggruen Museum Berlin, 2017

Paul Klee
'Pflanze und Fenster Stilleben'
1927 (9)

(9) References: Photo of Paul Klee's Still Life with Plant and Window, Berggruen Museum Berlin, 2017

The key to open up to Paul Klee is allowing you to see the ease in his paintings. There is no big fuss, but many small, many humoro​u​s objects. To be more precise, ​he painted ​objects with great but defined power. I think it is exactly his accurately drawn boundaries, may they be involuntarily or not, that make Paul Klee’s works interesting and sympathetic.​

There is none of the brilliant finesse and directness we may see in a Kandinsky or Matisse. There is none of the noisy spectacle and abruptness we can always see in Picasso's work. No, it is the charm of Klee's stylised simpleness and modesty. It is his sensuous soundness of German persistence and originality, albeit a bit too intellectual for many people, that stands out in Klee’s work. He is eccentric and not uncomplicated, yes, but never primitive or shocking for the sake of getting a kind of scandalous or offending effect on people.

Paul Klee
'Klassische Küste'
1931(10)

(10) References: Photo of Paul Klee's Classical Coast, Berggruen Museum Berlin, 2017

Perhaps it is necessay to see more of Klee's creative work to fully fathom the artist. Can you ever, though? The paintings I have posted here are exhibits of a small but lovely and private collection. Nevertheless I think just this hits the mark. Privacy. Klee was a very private man. He must have been relatively happy with his life and his marriage to Lily. 'Little things make big days' could have been his  Motto I think, and it would explain why his work strikes us as something so domesticated , so settled back. The truth is, Paul Klee was very much in touch with his individuality and the reality he met. In his pieces we won't find much of rebelliousness or protest against the world, even though he often struggled with the very German attitudes of the society he lived in. Painted irony was by far a much better weapon to play along with his circumstances. What Klee wanted was to be comfortable in his little microcosm of creativity, despite the indifference of people and his very different way of thinking. Paul Klee always painted the moment. Once we realise this, his work isn't so difficult to understand, right?

Paul Klee's signature.