Klee (Masters of Art) [Hardcover]

Will Grohmann (Author), Paul Klee (Painter)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1985

A broad selection of representative color reproductions presented with individual analysis and supplemented with a brief biography.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (January 15, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810912082
• ISBN-13: 978-0810912083
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #746,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Careful and thorough introduction to Klee, July 4, 2001

By 

Eileen Galen (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Klee (Masters of Art) (Hardcover)

This is an efficient and careful monograph that succeeds on many levels. Grohmann was Klee's biographer and longtime friend. He is respectful without being sycophantic, and thorough but never plodding. He uses a variety of source materials, including Klee's own writings (diaries and letters). Grohmann establishes Klee's lasting importance to art and to painting by asserting, "It is as though he were still among us, to be consulted on every problem of life and art." Grohmann's generous(40 pages, 58 illustrations) and lively essay on Klee is also charming and personal. It combines biography, criticism, a wealth of references, and thought-provoking appreciation. It's generously illustrated with photographs of Klee and his studio, plus ink, tusche, chalk, and pencil drawings, collage, watercolor, tempera, and oil paintings, a woodcut study, and etchings.

The text that accompanies the following forty color plates (a selection of paintings) is the calm, clear art criticism that Grohmann is so good at. The plates' reproduced colors are good but not great. What's best is that Grohmann is such an able teacher. He describes each painting straightforwardly, and then asks intelligent questions, suggests answers that seem well-thought-out, and inspires one to further thought and research. His friendship with Klee gave him some additional understanding of his friend's work and lifelong passions and motives.

A very worthwhile book on a great artist.