Klee - Architecture

It is a work painted by Paul Klee as part of his Magic Squares series, a collection of paintings based on simple patterns, shapes, and topography. The image consists of a pattern of highly ordered and logically arranged sequences of clearly distinguishable, differently colored squares. The work is widely regarded as a reflection on the nature of rhythm, repetition, and similarity. In 1923, Klee taught at the Bauhaus, a highly influential art school in Germany, and it was also during this time that the "Blue Four", a group of revolutionary modern artists including Klee, Kandinsky, Feininger, and Jawlensky, was founded.

"Architektur" can also be seen as a reflection of Klee's romantic philosophical approach to life. He believed that the universe around us is a manifestation and reflection of something else, a supreme being or something similar. In many ways, the squares in "Architektur" could be a symbol of the universe as a whole, building blocks that in themselves seem valuable and important, but are simply patterns created by someone else.

Architect, 1923

© ADAGP 2006