Paul Klee

Paul Klee (1879-1940) was a German-Swiss painter and graphic artist who became renowned for his unique combination of Expressionist, Cubist, and Surrealist elements, as well as his use of color, symbolism, and fantasy. He was born in Münchenbuchsee near Bern and studied painting in Munich. Following travels to Italy and France, a trip to Tunis with August Macke in 1914 marked his breakthrough as a painter. Klee taught at the Bauhaus in Weimar and Dessau starting in 1920 and became a professor at the Düsseldorf Art Academy in 1931, but was forced to emigrate in 1933 under pressure from the National Socialists. In 1937, his works were confiscated as “degenerate,” and he died in 1940 in Muralto, Switzerland.