The following is a short poem Klee wrote in his diary during his first year of study in Munich in 1898–99 (from The Diaries of Paul Klee, 1898–1918):

Music, for me, is a love bewitched.
Fame as a painter?
Writer, modern poet? Bad joke.
So I have no calling, and loaf.

Written at a moment when he was still unsure about his future career, this poem reveals Klee’s lifelong interest in music and writing, both of which would serve as inspiration for many of his artworks, including MoMA’s Vocal Fabric of the Singer Rosa Silber.

Submitted by Charlotte Healy, Museum Research Consortium Fellow, Department of Painting and Sculpture