Provenance
By descent to the artist's wife, Lily Klee (died 1946), Berne, 1940 [according to the Klee Foundation]; Klee-Gesellschaft, Berne, 1946-1948 [according to the Klee Foundation]. Curt Valentin Gallery, New York, 1948 [according to the Klee Foundation]; sold to the Art Institute, 1949.
Accession Number
64309
Medium
Black crayon on cream wove tracing paper, hinged to cream wove card
Dimensions
44.4 × 26.6 cm (17 1/2 × 10 1/2 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Credit Line
Mrs. Walter P. Paepcke, Mrs. Alice H. Patterson and Margaret Day Blake funds
Background & Context
Background Story
Paul Klee's Animals in Monumental Pose depicts animals with a simplified, monumental treatment that gives them weight and presence. Klee's animals carry symbolic meanings and receive the same formal attention as his human subjects.
Cultural Impact
Klee's animal imagery demonstrates the range of his symbolic vocabulary.
Why It Matters
These animals in monumental pose carry the weight of symbolic meaning through Klee's simplified forms.
