Kriechendes und Baumendes 1937

Paul Klee made this intriguing drawing, Kriechendes und Baumendes, with blue ink on paper. The title translates as 'creeping and climbing' which suggests Klee was interested in the natural world and perhaps in the processes of growth and change. Klee spent the first half of the 1930s working as a teacher at the Dusseldorf Academy. However, in 1933, he was dismissed by the Nazi party, who deemed his art ‘degenerate’. Klee’s work was deeply influenced by Cubism, Expressionism, and Surrealism. You might consider how the rise of fascism across Europe in the 1930s impacted Klee's decision to move away from the established aesthetic codes of these movements. The historian might reflect on how Klee’s engagement with nature created an alternative visual language through which he was able to subtly reject the prevailing cultural and political values.