Animals in an Enclosure, 1938
Paul Kleeexpand_more
Brush and black and red-brown gouache on paperexpand_more
Gift of F. C. Schangexpand_more 64.66
Not on Viewexpand_more
Animals in Enclosure was created during Klee's exile in Switzerland after he was stripped of his professorship at the Düsseldorf Academy by the Nazis in 1933. It employs a labyrinth of aggressive shapes such as bars, arches, forks and arcs to create an imaginary enclosure for several hieroglyphic beasts. The relationship to prehistoric cave paintings and rock sculptures gives this work a sense of mystery and reveals most directly the influence of archaic forms on Klee's art.
Details
- Title
- Animals in an Enclosure
- Artist Life
- 1879 - 1940
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 64.66
- Provenance
- The artist; the artist's wife, Lily Klee, Bern (1940-d.1946); Klee Foundation, Bern, 1946; Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Paris; (Buchholz Gallery, New York, by 1948-1953; sold to Galerie Simon); (Galerie Simon, Paris, from 1953). Frederick C. Schang, South Norwalk, Conn. and New York, by 1959-1964; given to MIA, 1964.
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Klee Foundation, vol. 7, no. 7209; P. Klee handwritten catalogue: 1938, 8 (8)
- Curator Approved
This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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