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Ventriloquist and Crier in the Moor

Paul Klee German, born Switzerland
1923
Not on view
Imaginary beasts float within a transparent ventriloquist who appears to be all belly—except, of course, for a pair of legs, tiny arms, and a sort of head without a mouth. The little creatures inside the ventriloquist might symbolize the odd noises and voices that seem to emanate from him. The moor is indicated by the background grid of warm earth colors that turns dark toward the center and against which the figure, as part of this grid, stands out like a light-colored bubble in clear reds and blues. As if attracted by the animal sounds above him, a stray fish is about to enter a net dangling from the lower part of the ventriloquist's anatomy—perhaps to join the menagerie within.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Ventriloquist and Crier in the Moor
  • Artist: Paul Klee (German (born Switzerland), Münchenbuchsee 1879–1940 Muralto-Locarno)
  • Date: 1923
  • Medium: Watercolor and transferred printing ink on paper, bordered with ink, mounted on cardboard
  • Dimensions: 16 1/2 × 11 5/8 in. (41.9 × 29.5 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: The Berggruen Klee Collection, 1984
  • Object Number: 1984.315.35
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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