Polyphonic Architecture
- Date
- 1930
- made in
- Dessau, Sachsen-Anhalt state, Germany, Europe
- Classification
- Drawings & watercolors
- Collection
- Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 16 3/4 x 18 5/16 in. (42.5 x 46.5 cm)
framed: 17 7/8 x 19 3/8 x 1 3/4 in. (45.4 x 49.2 x 4.4 cm) - Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 9:1942
NOTES
Individual color planes of red, orange, yellow, and black hues overlap and merge to create a balanced whole in this image by Swiss artist Paul Klee. The linear symbols in the center add an improvisational counterpoint to the grid of the pictorial space. A talented violinist, Klee was familiar with the musical concept of polyphony-the use of simultaneous, yet independent, melodic lines in a composition-and transferred the idea to the visual arts in this work. Klee believed that art was governed by certain structural laws and music was one of the models he often turned to.
Provenance
1930 -
Otto Ralfs (1892–1955), Braunschweig, Germany [1]
Hermann (1880–1962) and Margrit (1887–1961) Rupf, Bern, Switzerland [1]
- 1939
Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Paris, France [1]
by 1939 - 1940
Paul Klee (1879-1940), Bern, Switzerland [2]
1940 - 1942
Lily Klee (1876-1946), Bern, Switzerland, by inheritance from the artist [2]
1939 - 1942
Nierendorf Gallery (Karl Nierendorf), New York, NY, on consignment from the artist [2]
1942 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Lily Klee through Nierendorf Gallery (Karl Nierendorf) [3]
Notes:
[1] Josef Helfenstein and Christian Rümelin, eds., Paul Klee: Catalogue Raisonné, vol. 5: 1927–1930, 9 vols. (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1998), no. 5246, p. 479.
[2] In 1939, Paul Klee sent the picture to Karl Nierendof in New York for consignment. It did not sell before 1942, when the Museum acquired the work from Lily Klee, the artist's wife [Letter from Stefan Frey of the Paul Klee Stiftung, dated January 11, 1994, SLAM document files].
[3] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, February 5, 1942.
Otto Ralfs (1892–1955), Braunschweig, Germany [1]
Hermann (1880–1962) and Margrit (1887–1961) Rupf, Bern, Switzerland [1]
- 1939
Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Paris, France [1]
by 1939 - 1940
Paul Klee (1879-1940), Bern, Switzerland [2]
1940 - 1942
Lily Klee (1876-1946), Bern, Switzerland, by inheritance from the artist [2]
1939 - 1942
Nierendorf Gallery (Karl Nierendorf), New York, NY, on consignment from the artist [2]
1942 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Lily Klee through Nierendorf Gallery (Karl Nierendorf) [3]
Notes:
[1] Josef Helfenstein and Christian Rümelin, eds., Paul Klee: Catalogue Raisonné, vol. 5: 1927–1930, 9 vols. (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1998), no. 5246, p. 479.
[2] In 1939, Paul Klee sent the picture to Karl Nierendof in New York for consignment. It did not sell before 1942, when the Museum acquired the work from Lily Klee, the artist's wife [Letter from Stefan Frey of the Paul Klee Stiftung, dated January 11, 1994, SLAM document files].
[3] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, February 5, 1942.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.