December 18

Swiss-born painter Paul Klee was born on December 18, 1879, near Bern. In much of his work, he aspired to achieve a naïve, untutored quality, but his art is also among the most cerebral of the 20th century. His intellectual curiosity shows in works informed by structures and themes drawn from music, nature and poetry. Titles play a major role – ironic, poetic, irreverent, deadpan, flippant – and set up the perspectives from which he wanted his works to be seen. He worked in many media, including oil paint, watercolor, ink, pastel, etching and others, often combining them in one work. In his own words, Klee said he liked to “take a line for a walk.” Pictured: “Senecio” (1922), portrait of an artist performer in harlequin. Color and geometry show the shifting relationship between art, illusion and the world of drama.