Paul Klee - Puppet Theatre, 1923

Zentrum Paul Klee EN

Like Picasso, Klee was also seeking for simple, modern means of expression. But unlike Picasso, who was impressed by the magical charm of «primitive» sculpture, Klee discovered the original sources of art in his own childrens drawings. Initially he approached a reduction of form cautiously. In later years he developed an intentional naivety into his specific form of expression. In the water colour «Puppet theatre» the theatre becomes the imaginary stage of childhood. The sheet hides depths which are unexpected at first sight: The stripe-like structured brightly coloured figures stand out from the dark background like a shining negative but still remain as if written on. The puppet on the floor seems to have been left unnoticed, the small unicorn on the right, steps stubbornly forward. The duplicity of the picture’s message is in accord with the technical process of the painting: It is made up of two individual parts and Paul Klee touched up the gap with black water colour. The lower part is the fragment of the sheet «Still life {{with the Dice.}}», which Klee registered in his Work Catalogue under the next number 1923, 22. Seen in this way, the Puppet Theatre becomes a stage with a double floor and a vegetative «Underworld».