Static-Dynamic Gradation, 1923
Paul Klee (German, 1879–1940)
Oil and gouache on paper, bordered with gouache, watercolor, and ink
Artist Biography
Technical Glossary
Paul Klee (German, 1879–1940)
Oil and gouache on paper, bordered with gouache, watercolor, and ink
15 x 10 1/4 in. (38.1 x 26.1 cm)
The Berggruen Klee Collection, 1987 (1987.455.12)
While teaching at the Bauhaus, first in Weimar (1919–25) and then in Dessau (1925–32), Klee created many works that related to the subject of his courses. This watercolor reflects the artist's preoccupation with color relationships. Here, outer dark colors surround pure luminous ones in the center. In this work Klee devised a systematic movement, progressing from dark-hued brownish squares, which he dubbed "static," toward the clear-colored ones, which he called "dynamic" by virtue of the contrasts they offer.
