Customer Reviews

Paul Klee (Artists of the 20th Century)

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Almost a second after mentioning his date of birth, the narrator states when Klee got married. At three and a half minutes, the date of his death comes up. One never gets to see a photo of the artist (cameras did exist at that time). So this was almost entirely about his work.

They stress his musical background. I think his work was meant to create a type of synesthesia. They mention so much painting that he did in the 1910s, but World War I never comes up. Maybe he was a purposely apolitical artist. Eventually, the narrator mentions Picasso and cubism, but schools and fellow artists hardly come up.

If you like dry, but deep, art lectures, then this is for you.

This documentary presents hundreds of works by the artist. It is a narrated slide show. The commentary is very detailed, competent, and comprehensive. It includes extensive biography mixed with a very professional painting analysis encompassing influence of other artists with examples of their works. The quality of video and sound is good.

This is a great film and I recommend it for all looking to know more about Paul Klee. However, the narrator's voice is not very inspiring and, though one grows used to it, could have been much better. Also, he pronounces "Kleeee" instead of "Clay", which is confusing. The documentary aspect is sort of lame - there's no real talk of the era, only some mention of contemporaries, and he's died within the first ten minutes. However, the film gives you lots and lots of Klee's art, close up and beautiful. You get lots of titles and dates and plenty of close up art. There is even a bit of art historian style interpretation of the art, its execution, drawing attention to some details, styles, and only a wee little bit about the man. But just to sit there and look at art, with thumb hovering near the pause button is delightfully rich and rewarding, and I recommend it with this approach.

The images on the DVD aren't as clear as you'd like. The biography is cursory. There is no linkage with museums/cultural sites. There is no investigation of how Klee developed his unique style.
If you are buying to show to elementary students, it'll do.
It sure didn't jazz my socks.