Paul Klee

Through the paper of Cat and Bird Scherzo (1920), the lines of a sketch on the reverse side of the sheet are faintly visible. The traces of the image on the back merge with the work on the front, resulting in a compositional and thematic unity.

The image on the front clearly depicts two cats and two birds. The paper’s transparency reveals a drawing of a standing figure on the reverse side of the sheet.

The sharp claws of the bird on the ground are superimposed upon the form of human toes that are visible from the back. Rather than disrupting the composition, the toes are seamlessly integrated into the image, opening up a new field of meaning: a dialogue between human and animal, movement and stasis.

Klee used Cat and Bird Scherzo as a study for the oil transfer drawing Cat and Bird (Double Scene) (1920). As early as 1973, Jürgen Glaesemer, then curator of the Paul-Klee-Stiftung, drew attention to Klee’s double-sided works. He noted that Klee’s studies for oil transfer drawings often had sketches on their backs, mentioning Cat and Bird Scherzo as an example.