Paul Klee

Paul Klee - Left Handed, Life Achievements and Family

Violet FieldHome › GermanPaul KleeDecember 18, 1879739 views

0 based on 0 rates
Paul Klee Biography Stories 

Paul Klee's Personal Details

Paul Klee was a Swiss-German painter counted among the greatest painters of the 20th century

InformationDetail
BirthdayDecember 18, 1879
Died onJune 29, 1940
NationalityGerman, Swiss
FamousLeft Handed, Artists & Painters, Artists, Cubist Painters, Miscellaneous
SpousesLily Stumpf
SiblingsMathilde
ChildrensFelix Paul
Universities
  • Academy of Fine Arts
Birth PlaceMünchenbuchsee
Born CountrySwitzerland
GenderMale
FatherHans Wilhelm Kle
MotherIda Marie Klee
Sun SignSagittarius
Born inMünchenbuchsee
Famous asPainter
Died at Age60

// Famous Artists & Painters

Micheline Roquebrune

Micheline Roquebrune

Micheline Roquebrune is a petite Moroccan-French painter best known as the third wife the legendary Scottish actor Sir Sean Connery. Check out this biography to know about her birthday, childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about her.

Yvonne McGuinness

Yvonne McGuinness

Yvonne McGuinness is an Irish multimedia artist. This biography profiles her childhood, family, personal life, career, etc.

Akira Toriyama

Akira Toriyama

Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist. This biography profiles his childhood, family, personal life, achievements, etc.

Paul Klee's photo

Who is Paul Klee?

Paul Klee was a Swiss-German painter who though originally associated with the German Expressionist group ‘Der Blaue Reite’, refused to adhere to any single artistic movement over the span of his career. He was also a gifted draughtsman and an educator whose lectures on color theory hold an important place in modern art. He taught at the German Bauhaus school of art, design and architecture, and his unique style was influenced by several art movements including expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. A highly creative and independent minded person, he challenged the traditional norms of expression in art and writing and explored abstract and poetic ideas in his paintings and writings. He was a transcendentalist who believed that the material world was only one among many realities open to human awareness. He was also a musician who used to practice on his violin before he started painting; as an artist, he could feel the analogies between music and the visual arts. He experimented freely with artistic techniques and applied paint in ways unusual for his era, and he greatly admired the unrestrained, free-flowing art of children. He suffered from a wasting disease towards the end of his life, the pain of which was reflected in his later paintings. A highly prolific artist, he left behind a legacy comprising about 9,000 works of art at the time of his death.

// Famous Cubist Painters

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso was one of the greatest painters of the 20th century. With this biography, explore his life, childhood, profile and timeline.

Juan Gris

Juan Gris

Juan Gris was a renowned Spainish painter. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali was a Spanish painter who was an advocate of surrealism. Read this biography to know more about his life.

Childhood & Early Life

He was born on 18 December 1879 as the second child of German music teacher Hans Wilhelm Klee and his Swiss wife, Ida Marie Klee. He had one elder sister.

From a young age he was encouraged by his parents to learn music. He was sent to attend violin classes at the Municipal Music School when he was seven. He was musically talented and was invited to play as an extraordinary member of the Bern Music Association when he was just 11.

But eventually his interests turned towards art and he began studying art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich with Heinrich Knirr and Franz von Stuck in 1898. He drew well but seemed to lack a natural color sense.

He traveled to Italy with a friend after receiving his Fine Arts degree and spent a few months in 1901–02 studying the master painters of past centuries. He returned home and took occasional art classes.

Career

He started developing some experimental techniques during the 1900s, including etching and drawing with a needle on a blackened pane of glass. From 1903 to 1905 he worked on a series of etchings called ‘Inventions’ in which he illustrated several grotesque characters. During this time he was also playing violin in an orchestra and writing concert reviews.

He met Alfred Kubin in 1911 and Kubin encouraged him to illustrate Voltaire’s ‘Candide’. Kubin was very supportive of the young artist and appreciated his inclination towards the absurd and the sarcastic.

Through Kubin, Klee met many other artists and art critics, and by the winter of 1911 he joined the editorial team of the journal ‘Der Blaue Reiter’ which was co-founded by Franz Marc and Wassily Kandinsky. This period saw Klee experimenting with colors in landscapes.

His work reached a new level of maturity during the World War I. Several of his friends including Auguste Macke and Franz Marc were killed and this deeply affected Klee. He made many pen-and-ink lithographs, including ‘Death for the Idea’, in response to these losses.

He joined the German army in 1916, restoring aircraft camouflage and working as a clerk. He also continued to paint during the entire war and also managed to exhibit in several shows. He became very popular by 1917 and was hailed as the best of the new German artists.

In 1919 he secured a three-year contract with dealer Hans Goltz, whose influential gallery gave Klee major exposure as well as commercial success. He also held a retrospective of over 300 works in 1920.

In 1920, Walter Gropius invited Klee to join the faculty of the Bauhaus, a school of architecture and industrial design. He accepted this post and started teaching in January 1921. His friend Kandinsky joined the staff the next year, and the two men formed the Blue Four with two other artists, Alexej von Jawlensky and Lyonel Feininger, and toured the United States to lecture and exhibit work.

Klee began teaching at Dusseldorf Academy in 1931. However, he was fired under Nazi rule in 1933 and moved with his family to Switzerland. He was at the peak of his career at this time. He soon started suffered from ill health and his output dropped considerably even though he continued painting until his last years.

Personal Life & Legacy

During his youth he developed the habit of frequenting pubs. As a young man he also became involved in numerous affairs with lower class women and artists’ models. One of his several liaisons resulted in the birth of a son in 1900 though the baby died after a few weeks.

In 1906, he married Bavarian pianist Lily Stumpf and they had one son, Felix Paul. His wife gave piano lessons while he kept house and focused on his art.

He suffered from a wasting disease, scleroderma, during his later years and was constantly in pain. His unbearable pain is reflected in one of his last paintings, ‘Death and Fire’ which depicts a skull with the German word for death, “Tod”.

He died on 29 June 1940 in Muralto, Locarno, Switzerland.

// Famous Miscellaneous

Jason Simpson

Jason Simpson

Jason Simpson is the son of former NFL running back, broadcaster and actor O. J. Simpson. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family, life, and little known facts about him.

Melissa Brim

Melissa Brim

Melissa Brim is the ex-girlfriend of former professional boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. Check out this biography to know about her birthday, childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about her.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer is a Christian author and speaker. This biography provides detailed information about her childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline

Paul Klee biography timelines

  • // 18th Dec 1879
    He was born on 18 December 1879 as the second child of German music teacher Hans Wilhelm Klee and his Swiss wife, Ida Marie Klee. He had one elder sister.
  • // 1898
    But eventually his interests turned towards art and he began studying art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich with Heinrich Knirr and Franz von Stuck in 1898. He drew well but seemed to lack a natural color sense.
  • // 1900
    During his youth he developed the habit of frequenting pubs. As a young man he also became involved in numerous affairs with lower class women and artists’ models. One of his several liaisons resulted in the birth of a son in 1900 though the baby died after a few weeks.
  • // 1901 To 1902
    He traveled to Italy with a friend after receiving his Fine Arts degree and spent a few months in 1901–02 studying the master painters of past centuries. He returned home and took occasional art classes.
  • // 1903 To 1905
    He started developing some experimental techniques during the 1900s, including etching and drawing with a needle on a blackened pane of glass. From 1903 to 1905 he worked on a series of etchings called ‘Inventions’ in which he illustrated several grotesque characters. During this time he was also playing violin in an orchestra and writing concert reviews.
  • // 1906
    In 1906, he married Bavarian pianist Lily Stumpf and they had one son, Felix Paul. His wife gave piano lessons while he kept house and focused on his art.
  • // 1911
    He met Alfred Kubin in 1911 and Kubin encouraged him to illustrate Voltaire’s ‘Candide’. Kubin was very supportive of the young artist and appreciated his inclination towards the absurd and the sarcastic.
  • // 1911
    Through Kubin, Klee met many other artists and art critics, and by the winter of 1911 he joined the editorial team of the journal ‘Der Blaue Reiter’ which was co-founded by Franz Marc and Wassily Kandinsky. This period saw Klee experimenting with colors in landscapes.
  • // 1916 To 1917
    He joined the German army in 1916, restoring aircraft camouflage and working as a clerk. He also continued to paint during the entire war and also managed to exhibit in several shows. He became very popular by 1917 and was hailed as the best of the new German artists.
  • // 1919 To 1920
    In 1919 he secured a three-year contract with dealer Hans Goltz, whose influential gallery gave Klee major exposure as well as commercial success. He also held a retrospective of over 300 works in 1920.
  • // 1920
    In 1920, Walter Gropius invited Klee to join the faculty of the Bauhaus, a school of architecture and industrial design. He accepted this post and started teaching in January 1921. His friend Kandinsky joined the staff the next year, and the two men formed the Blue Four with two other artists, Alexej von Jawlensky and Lyonel Feininger, and toured the United States to lecture and exhibit work.
  • // 1931 To 1933
    Klee began teaching at Dusseldorf Academy in 1931. However, he was fired under Nazi rule in 1933 and moved with his family to Switzerland. He was at the peak of his career at this time. He soon started suffered from ill health and his output dropped considerably even though he continued painting until his last years.
  • // 29th Jun 1940
    He died on 29 June 1940 in Muralto, Locarno, Switzerland.

// Famous Artists

Susan Mikula

Susan Mikula

Susan Mikula is an American artist and photographer. Check out this biography to know about her childhood, family life, achievements and fun factsabout her life.

Akira Toriyama

Akira Toriyama

Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist. This biography profiles his childhood, family, personal life, achievements, etc.

Bob Ross

Bob Ross

Bob Ross was a celebrated, creative American painter and an art instructor. Check out this biography to know about his birthday, childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about him.

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American graffiti artist who was one of the leading lights of the neo expressionist era in the 1980s. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso was one of the greatest painters of the 20th century. With this biography, explore his life, childhood, profile and timeline.

Rene Magritte

Rene Magritte

Rene Magritte was a Belgian surrealist artist known for his thought-provoking images that force the observers to think beyond their perceptions of reality. This biography provides information about his childhood, life, works & achievements.

Paul Klee's FAQ

  • What is Paul Klee birthday?

    Paul Klee was born at 1879-12-18

  • When was Paul Klee died?

    Paul Klee was died at 1940-06-29

  • Where was Paul Klee died?

    Paul Klee was died in Muralto

  • Which age was Paul Klee died?

    Paul Klee was died at age 60

  • Where is Paul Klee's birth place?

    Paul Klee was born in Münchenbuchsee

  • What is Paul Klee nationalities?

    Paul Klee's nationalities is German, Swiss

  • Who is Paul Klee spouses?

    Paul Klee's spouses is Lily Stumpf

  • Who is Paul Klee siblings?

    Paul Klee's siblings is Mathilde

  • Who is Paul Klee childrens?

    Paul Klee's childrens is Felix Paul

  • What was Paul Klee universities?

    Paul Klee studied at Academy of Fine Arts

  • Who is Paul Klee's father?

    Paul Klee's father is Hans Wilhelm Kle

  • Who is Paul Klee's mother?

    Paul Klee's mother is Ida Marie Klee

  • What is Paul Klee's sun sign?

    Paul Klee is Sagittarius

  • How famous is Paul Klee?

    Paul Klee is famouse as Painter