Paul Klee

Paul Klee drew his Striding Figure (1915) on the back of a leaflet. There is nothing arbitrary or incidental about the artist’s choice of medium: Klee was making a clear statement, both artistically and in terms of the politics of art.

Klee was among the founding members of the New Munich Secession. The association was established in 1913 in response to the more traditional Munich Secession, in which a number of modern artists did not feel properly represented.

In February and March 1915, the artists of the New Munich Secession held an exhibition, which was met with harsh critique. Klee’s abstract works in particular, fourteen of which featured in the exhibition, came under heavy attack.

This criticism led the members of the association to publish a manifesto, which they distributed as a leaflet. Klee mounted a section of this leaflet, printed side down, onto a piece of card. Thanks to the artist’s generous application of glue and pressure, the leaflet’s lettering is visible.

It is over this subtly visible text that Klee has drawn the titular Striding Figure. The “striding” of the title suggests a dual meaning. On the one hand, it denotes walking with a large stride – a forward‑moving action. On the other hand, the figure is seen stepping out from a doorway and thus moves away from the scene. In this way, the image can also be read as an attempt on Klee’s part to distance himself from both his critics and the authors of the manifesto.