Customer Reviews

Paul Klee: Art and Music

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Klee's work fascinates me because it is so various, doesn't fit in any one movement, and seems to be the product of an unusual mind and an unusual approach to working. Kagan discusses Klee's work as it relates to music. Klee had a great interest in music and used his knowledge of music theory as a tool for developing methods of art making.

The first chapter discusses Klee's ongoing attempts to develop a method of using color in a "polyphonic" manner. Klee had an interest in developing a polyphonic form of art analogous to polyphonic music. An influential text in the development of classical polyphonic music was Johann Fux's "Gradus ad Parnassum"; Klee titled the culminating painting in his quest for color polyphony "Ad Parnassum". Kagan also discusses other works, including an interesting discussion of the painting "Alter Klang" and the later "magic square" painting "New Harmony".

The second chapter discusses "operatic paintings": those works where Klee combined line drawings with a color theme background. Klee's line started out delicate in nature and later in his life became more forceful and dominant.

I don't have any knowledge of musical theory but found this book very interesting - someone with music knowledge may find it even more so. The interior illustrations are in black and white, but are useful and relevant to the text. If you aren't very familiar with Klee's work, you might also want a book with good color reproductions to look at while reading this.