In Focus: Paul Klee

The Swiss-born artist and theorist Paul Klee (1879–1940) created works of art with a universal appeal, often with a humor and whimsy akin to the naïve drawings of children.

This installation features an evocative oil and watercolor painting recently donated to UMMA, Das Paar in der Dämmerung (The Couple at Dusk) which shows Klee operating at the height of his powers and embodies his inventive imagery and expressive use of color.

Dating from the years that Klee taught at the influential Bauhaus art school in Weimar, Germany, this work reflects one of the artist’s signature creative processes: the transfer of an existing drawing to a new sheet of paper, which is then augmented with watercolor. The result is mysterious and introspective, with a distilled focus on the intimacy of the couple.