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Paul Klee Castle Garden 1931

  • Not on view

The imagery in this work, executed following a trip to Northern Italy and Sicily in 1931, may be related to the historical built structures Klee encountered on his travels, while its formal elements are akin to the early Christian and Byzantine mosaics he likely also saw. Like the colored tesserae that compose a mosaic, the small strokes of muted color that cover this canvas remain independent on the white ground while together they subtly evoke vegetation and architectural forms—gabled roofs, turrets, and walls.

Gallery label from 2006.
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
26 1/2 x 21 5/8" (67.2 x 54.9 cm)
Credit
Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection Fund
Object number
106.1982
Copyright
© 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Department
Painting and Sculpture

Installation views

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Provenance Research Project

This work is included in the Provenance Research Project, which investigates the ownership history of works in MoMA's collection.

On consignment from the artist to Alfred Flechtheim (1878-1937), Berlin, 1931 [1]; on loan to the Kunsthalle Basel, October 1935 [2]; acquired by Richard Doetsch-Benzinger (1877-1958), Basel, November 1935 [3]; Estate of Richard Doetsch-Benzinger, 1958; [Kurt Delbanco, London/New York] [4]; acquired by Lady Nika Hulton, London, by 1961 [5]; acquired by Galerie Beyeler, Basel, by 1973 [6]; Fondación Juan March, Madrid, 1976 [7]; acquired by The Museum of Modern Art, New York 1982 (Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection Fund).

[1] Paul-Klee-Stiftung, Kunstmuseum Bern, eds. Paul Klee: catalogue raisonné. Bern: Benteli and New York: Thames and Hudson, vol. 6 (2002), no. 5557. Included in the exhibition Paul Klee: Neue Bilder und Aquarelle, Galerie Alfred Flechtheim, Berlin, November 5-December 10, 1931 (no. 16)
[2] Offered for sale at the exhibition Paul Klee, Kunsthalle Basel, October 27-November 24, 1935 (no. 47: Schlossgarten).
[3] Paul Klee: catalogue raisonné, vol. 6 (2002), no. 5557.
[4] Ibid. Ownership could not be verified.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Included in the exhibition Klee: Kunst ist ein Schöpfungsgleichnis, Galerie Beyeler, Basel, September-November 1973 (cat. no. 56).
[7] Paul Klee: catalogue raisonné, vol. 6 (2002), no. 5557.

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