Paul Klee Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Paul Klee
Klee in 1926
Born	(1879-12-18)December 18, 1879 Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland
Died	29 June 1940(1940-06-29) (aged 60) Muralto, Switzerland
Nationality	German
Education	Academy of Fine Arts, Munich
Known for	Painting, drawing, watercolor, printmaking
Notable work	More than 10,000 paintings, drawings, and etchings, including Angelus Novus (1920), Twittering Machine (1922), Fish Magic (1925), Viaducts Break Ranks (1937).
Movement	Expressionism, Bauhaus, Surrealism
Signature

Paul Klee (born December 18, 1879 – died June 29, 1940) was a famous Swiss-German artist. He is known as one of the most important painters of the 20th century. His artwork was inspired by different art styles. These included Expressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism. Klee was also very interested in the theory of color and how it works in art.

Paul Klee's Life and Art Career
Paul Klee's Famous Artworks
Images for kids
See also

Paul Klee's Life and Art Career

Early Life and Education

Paul Klee was born in Münchenbuchsee, a town near Bern in Switzerland. His mother, Ida Maria Frick, was from Basel, Switzerland. His father, Hans Klee, came from Tann, a small town in Germany. Both of his parents were talented musicians.

When Klee was very young, he trained to be a violinist. But later, he decided he wanted to be an artist instead. He began studying art with Heinrich Knirr. In 1899, he was accepted into the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. After finishing his studies there, he also traveled to Italy to learn more about art. He then returned to Bern and lived with his parents for several years.

Marriage and Teaching

Klee married a pianist named Lily Stumpf in 1906. They moved to live in Munich. In the same year, 1906, he had his first big art show.

Besides painting, Klee also taught art for many years. He taught at the famous Bauhaus school from 1920 to 1931. Later, he taught at the Dusseldorf Academy.

Later Life and Challenges

When the Nazis came to power in Germany, life became very difficult for modern artists. The Nazis did not like Klee's style of art. Because of this, Klee moved back to Switzerland in 1933. He died in Muralto, Switzerland, in 1940. For many years, he had been sick with scleroderma. This is a serious autoimmune disease that affects the body's tissues.

Klee's Time as a Soldier

In the middle of World War I, Klee joined the army in 1916. He was a soldier in the reserve forces. After his training, he worked behind the front lines. This meant he did not fight in battles. Klee helped paint camouflage on aircraft. He also helped move aircraft from one place to another.

In 1917, he was moved to a flying school. There, he worked as a clerk for the treasurer. This job allowed him to have a small room outside the army barracks. This was important because it meant he could keep painting during the war.

Artistic Success

Klee continued to create art throughout the entire war. He even managed to show his paintings in several exhibitions. By 1917, Klee's artwork was selling very well. Art critics praised him as one of the best new German artists.

During his life, Klee created more than 10,000 paintings, drawings, and etchings. His artworks are now kept in museums all over the world.

Zentrum Paul Klee

In 2005, a special museum called the Zentrum Paul Klee (Paul Klee Center) opened in Bern, Switzerland. The building was designed by the famous Italian architect Renzo Piano. This center holds about 4,000 of Klee's artworks. It displays about 150 of them at a time. The exhibition changes every six months.

Paul Klee's Famous Artworks

These pictures show some of Klee's art from his later career. He painted them while he was teaching at the Bauhaus school. During this time, he was also part of an art group called Die Blaue Vier (The Blue Four). The other three artists in the group were Wassily Kandinsky, Lyonel Feininger, and Alexej von Jawlensky. Like Klee, both Kandinsky and Feininger taught at the Bauhaus. These four artists gave talks and showed their art together in Germany and the USA.

Red Baloon (1922), painted with oil on muslin fabric.
Senecio (1922), painted with oil on muslin.
Twittering Machine (1922), made with watercolor, oil, pen, and ink on paper.
Omega 5 (1927), created with oil and watercolor on cardboard.

Images for kids

My Room (German: Meine Bude), 1896.
Flower Myth (Blumenmythos) 1918.
Tropical Gardening, 1923.
Nocturnal Festivity, 1921.
Klee's grave in Schosshalden cemetery.
Tale à la Hoffmann (1921).
Dame mit Sonnenschirm, 1883–1885.
Hilterfingen, 1895.
Sixth Invention: Zwei Männer, einander in höherer Stellung vermutend, begegnen sich, 1903.
Fenster und Palmen, 1914.
In den Häusern von St. Germain, 1914.
Föhn im Marc’schen Garten, 1915.
Acrobats, 1915.
Zeichen in Gelb, 1937.
Nach der Überschwemmung, 1936.
Revolution des Viadukts, 1937.
Die Vase, 1938.
Heroische Rosen (Heroic Roses), 1938.
Insula dulcamara, 1938.
Ohne Titel (Letztes Stillleben), 1940.