Paul Klee

Paul Klee (1879–1940, Münchenbuchsee/Muralto) was a Swiss-German painter, draughtsman, and theorist whose practice moved across abstraction, figuration, symbolism, and music-inflected composition across four decades. Associated with the Bauhaus, where he taught from 1921 to 1931, and with Der Blaue Reiter, his work engaged with colour, line, form, and the relationship between visual art and language. His theoretical writings, including the Pedagogical Sketchbook (1925) and Thinking Eye (1961), remain central texts in twentieth-century art education.

Klee’s posthumous reputation was shaped in part by Galerie Berggruen, Paris, which distributed his works on paper through albums and exhibitions in the 1950s and 1960s, playing a key role in his canonisation within the postwar European art market.

This collection gathers exhibition invitations, catalogues, and printed matter relating to Klee’s practice and posthumous exhibition history.

  • Paul Klee, exhibition invitation card recto. Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, 1969. Cream card. Black line drawing printed on cream ground: a horizontal landscape composition combining industrial, architectural, and fantastical elements. At left, a squat brick chimney stack emits three rounded tree-like forms. Centre: scattered figures, flags, a crescent moon shape, and horizontal elements suggesting a ground plane. At right, a large triangular form — part tent, part tower — rises steeply, with a spiral Paul Klee, exhibition invitation card verso. Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, 1969. Plain cream card, no text or image. Faint embossed or impressed text visible along the top edge, partially legible, consistent with a printed address or gallery name pressed through from the interior. Light age toning, minor surface marks, and faint handling wear.

    Paul Klee — Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris, 1969

    Paul Klee — Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris, 1969

  • Paul Klee, Galerie Berggruen exhibition card recto. Galerie Berggruen, Paris, 1964. Vivid orange card. Black line drawing printed directly onto the orange ground: a perspective view of an interior space — a studio or exhibition room — rendered in loose, energetic ink line. The room contains suspended objects, shelving, a central table or plinth, geometric structures, and an eye motif on the right wall. Radiating lines suggest light or spatial tension from a central ceiling fixture. A curved arrow in the low Paul Klee, Galerie Berggruen exhibition card inside spread. Galerie Berggruen, Paris, 1964. Bifold card open flat. Left panel: plain vivid orange, no text. Right panel: vivid orange ground with centred text in black italic serif type in French: 'A l'occasion de la parution de l'album / Paul Klee – 12 aquarelles / la Galerie Berggruen présentera du / 5 Octobre au 30 Novembre 1964 / un choix d'œuvres de Klee / 70 Rue de l'Université – Paris VII'. Light handling wear and minor surface marks.

    Paul Klee — 12 Aquarelles, Galerie Berggruen, Paris, 1964

    Paul Klee — 12 Aquarelles, Galerie Berggruen, Paris, 1964

  • Paul Klee, Galerie Berggruen exhibition card recto. Galerie Berggruen, Paris, 1964. Vivid orange card. Black line drawing printed directly onto the orange ground: a perspective view of an interior space — a studio or exhibition room — rendered in loose, energetic ink line. The room contains suspended objects, shelving, a central table or plinth, geometric structures, and an eye motif on the right wall. Radiating lines suggest light or spatial tension from a central ceiling fixture. A curved arrow in the low Paul Klee, Galerie Berggruen exhibition card inside spread. Galerie Berggruen, Paris, 1964. Bifold card open flat. Left panel: plain vivid orange, no text. Right panel: vivid orange ground with centred text in black italic serif type in French: 'A l'occasion de la parution de l'album / Paul Klee – 12 aquarelles / la Galerie Berggruen présentera du / 5 Octobre au 30 Novembre 1964 / un choix d'œuvres de Klee / 70 Rue de l'Université – Paris VII'. Light handling wear and minor surface marks.

    Paul Klee — 12 Aquarelles, Galerie Berggruen, Paris, 1964 [II]

    Paul Klee — 12 Aquarelles, Galerie Berggruen, Paris, 1964 [II]