Fertility Tended To 1933

Curator: Today, we're looking at Paul Klee's watercolor and ink drawing on paper from 1933, "Fertility Tended To." It's held here at the Städel Museum. Editor: Oh, my first impression is… surprisingly hopeful, even a little bit joyous. Despite the somewhat muted tones, it feels like a secret garden bursting to life. It's that contrast with the black lines, perhaps. Like little architectural borders trying to contain pure, creative energy. Curator: Interesting take! Yes, Klee has composed it with countless small squares of watercolor, a kind of mosaic. The tones range from earth reds to dusky blues, with one key exception in the top left with some sunny yellows. What symbolic resonance do you think all this detail evokes? Editor: Immediately, I think of the concept of a gridded mandala – or perhaps the plan for an entire civilization rendered in pastel hues. Each small square contains a specific emotion or story which taken together compose the narrative of a world, both contained, planned, yet bursting forth, chaotic, ever-growing. All the associations with fertility point to themes of origins. Curator: I agree, I think it could easily suggest the plan of a landscape under cultivation, parcelled out and organised with precision by the land’s guardian – there are clearly borders to fields and what appear to be stepped paths across that land. Perhaps Klee is speaking to a hope for growth, prosperity, but still bounded by the realities of modernism’s imposition of form and order? Editor: Precisely. It also speaks to a broader artistic concern. This notion that art itself—that creation—is this act of 'tending,' constantly being maintained, carefully curated and designed to grow. Which suggests he considered fertility more as a sustained action rather than a singular blessed state. Curator: A beautiful image, no matter your view. Thank you for shining a light on what might initially appear to be a quite unassuming piece! Editor: My pleasure; an unexpected seed of joy sprung to life today!