Love Song by the New Moon 1939

Paul Klee created this enigmatic painting, Love Song by the New Moon, employing oil on gauze. It has the quality of a magic spell, an incantation to be recited on a specific night under the influence of a particular lunar phase. Made in Germany between the wars, this work reflects Klee’s involvement with the Bauhaus school of art and design, an institution that aimed to break down barriers between art, craft, and technology. We see this principle reflected in Klee's use of gauze, a utilitarian material, as the painting's support. It also reveals itself in the image’s simplicity, which borrows from folk art. The biomorphic forms, reduced in detail, might suggest the influence of Surrealism, a movement that prized the expression of subconscious states, often in reaction to the trauma of World War One. To better understand Klee's work, scholars consult a variety of sources: institutional records, published writings, and social histories of the era. This painting shows us how artistic choices reflect cultural and political climates.