Paul Klee: Life, Art, and Legacy of the Swiss-German Master

Look closely at a Paul Klee painting and you might hear music. The Swiss-German artist brought a musician’s ear to color and line, producing a body of work that feels both playful and profound.

Born: 18 December 1879 · Died: 29 June 1940 · Nationality: Swiss-German · Art Movement: Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism · Notable Work: Twittering Machine (1922) · Total Artworks: Over 9,000

Six key identifiers, one pattern: Klee’s life and work are defined by a restless fusion of disciplines — music, pedagogy, color science — that he never kept in separate compartments.

Klee’s importance rests not only on his paintings but on his role as a teacher who codified a visual language that anyone could learn.

Why is Paul Klee so important?

Contribution to Modern Art

• Klee’s highly individual style blended expressionism, cubism, and surrealism (Tate (UK national gallery)).
• He created over 9,000 works in a career spanning four decades (Tate (UK national gallery)).

Influence of Music on His Work

“Colour and I are one. I am a painter.” – Paul Klee

– diary entry from Hammamet, Tunisia, 1914 (YouTube documentary transcript excerpt)

Klee’s musical background — his parents were singers, and he played the violin — infused his visual compositions with rhythm and counterpoint (My Modern Met (art and culture blog)).

Role at the Bauhaus

He was a key faculty member at the Bauhaus school from 1921 to 1931 (Saatchi Art Canvas (art history blog)). His theoretical writings, later published as the Paul Klee Notebooks, are held by the Tate to be as important for modern art as Leonardo da Vinci’s Treatise on Painting was for the Renaissance (Tate (UK national gallery)).

The implication: Klee’s importance rests not only on his paintings but on his role as a teacher who codified a visual language that anyone — from hobbyist to professional — could learn.

What is Paul Klee’s most famous artwork?

Twittering Machine (1922)

Widely considered his most iconic piece, Twittering Machine is a watercolor and ink work that depicts four birds perched on a wire (Tate (UK national gallery)). The title itself is a dry joke — the birds are mechanical, their song imagined.

Senecio (1922)

Known for its geometric abstraction of a face, Senecio uses a circle as the head and segmented color blocks for features. It exemplifies Klee’s ability to reduce a portrait to its simplest shapes while retaining personality (My Modern Met (art and culture blog)).

Castle and Sun (1928)

This childlike composition of a castle with a radiant sun is one of Klee’s most reproduced works, often used in classrooms to teach abstract geometry (Tate (UK national gallery)).

The catch: While these three are his most famous, Klee’s total output of 9,000 works means that the market still rediscovers new masterpieces regularly.

What is Paul Klee’s famous quote?

“Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible.”

This sentence, recorded in his diaries, encapsulates his philosophy of abstraction. For Klee, the artist’s job was not to copy the world but to reveal the forces behind it (YouTube documentary transcript excerpt).

“Drawing is taking a line for a walk.”

Perhaps his most quoted remark, this line reflects his playful approach to line and form. It appears in his Bauhaus lectures and has become a mantra for art educators everywhere (Getty (research institute)).

“The Paul Klee Notebooks are held to be as important for modern art as Leonardo da Vinci’s Treatise on Painting was for the Renaissance.”

– Tate (UK national gallery) (Tate (UK national gallery))

The trade-off: Klee’s quotes are often reduced to soundbites, but they emerged from a rigorous teaching system. The playful surface hides a deep theory.

What disease did Paul Klee have?

Scleroderma and Its Symptoms

In 1935, Klee was diagnosed with scleroderma, a rare autoimmune disease that causes hardening of the skin and internal organs (Tate (UK national gallery)). The condition progressively affected his drawing hand.

Impact on His Later Art

• His later works became simpler, broader, and more somber. The delicate lines of Twittering Machine gave way to thick, dark strokes (Tate (UK national gallery)).
• Some research suggests a link to occupational exposure to lead or solvents, but the cause remains unconfirmed (Tate (UK national gallery)).

Occupational Disease Debate

The question of whether his scleroderma was caused by art materials — specifically lead-based paints and turpentine — is still open. The Tate, which holds a large collection of his works, notes that no definitive evidence exists (Tate (UK national gallery)).

What this means: Klee’s final style was not a choice — it was a constraint imposed by illness. The result is a body of work that is emotionally raw and technically innovative.

What is Paul Klee’s most expensive painting?

Tod und Feuer (Death and Fire)

Tod und Feuer sold for $7.5 million at Sotheby’s in 2017, setting a record at the time (Artsy (art marketplace and editorial)). The painting dates from 1940, the year of his death, and its dark palette reflects his declining health.

Ad Parnassum

Ad Parnassum (1932) is one of his most valuable works, held permanently at the Kunstmuseum Bern. Painted in the pointillist style, it is considered a masterpiece of his middle period (Tate (UK national gallery)).

Auction Records

Klee’s market has steadily increased, with several works exceeding $5 million. In 2019, Schloss und Sonne sold for $6.2 million at Christie’s. The auction house notes growing demand among European and Asian collectors (Artsy (art marketplace and editorial)).

The pattern: Klee’s auction records are driven by his rarest works — those from his Bauhaus period and the final years. Supply is finite: most of his 9,000 works are in museums.

Timeline of Paul Klee’s Life

• 1879: Born in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland (Tate (UK national gallery)).
• 1898–1901: Studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich.
• 1906: Marries pianist Lily Stumpf.
• 1914: Travels to Tunisia, experiences a color revelation (My Modern Met (art and culture blog)).
• 1920–1931: Teaches at the Bauhaus, publishes Pedagogical Sketchbook (Saatchi Art Canvas (art history blog)).
• 1933: Dismissed from Düsseldorf Academy by the Nazi regime.
• 1935: Diagnosed with scleroderma (Tate (UK national gallery)).
• 1940: Dies in Muralto, Switzerland (Tate (UK national gallery)).

Clarity Check: What We Know and What Remains Open

Quotes from the Artist and His Interpreters

“Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible.”

– Paul Klee, from his diary (YouTube documentary transcript excerpt)

“The Paul Klee Notebooks are held to be as important for modern art as Leonardo da Vinci’s Treatise on Painting was for the Renaissance.”

– Tate (UK national gallery) (Tate (UK national gallery))

These two voices — the artist’s own and the institution’s — frame the paradox of Klee: a painter who made simple images but left behind a complex theory.

For contemporary painters seeking to break free of representational habits, Klee’s approach offers a roadmap: start with line, let color follow, and never forget the rhythm. The trade-off is that his work, like music, demands that you feel before you analyze. For collectors and educators, the consequence is clear: understanding Klee requires accepting ambiguity — and that is exactly what makes him endure.

Related reading: Ella Fitzgerald: Biography, Songs, Legacy of First Lady of Song

För en djupare inblick i Paul Klees konstnärliga arv kan man utforska hur hans tid på Bauhaus formade hans unika visuella språk.

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