Paul Klee

Presumably out of a desire to showcase as many of his father’s works as possible, Felix Klee sometimes took drastic measures after his father’s death. Any double-sided works that could physically tolerate being separated were split, with one work becoming two.

Klee’s son Felix took over responsibility for his late parents’ estate in 1953. Old index cards testify to his engagement. For example, we know that, for many years, he repeatedly commissioned the services of the Basel conservator Max Ludwig – sometimes merely to reframe panel paintings, but in many cases to have works with images on both sides or superimposed images physically split in two.

These “bisections” took place between 1961 and 1967. From an original total of ten works there were now twenty. For example, It's Dawning and Untitled (Black Heart and Black Tree) (both 1939) were once physically joined.

Today, this approach is viewed critically. On the one hand, a reverse side discarded by Klee is elevated to an independent work. On the other, not knowing what was originally on the other side of a work means that possible thematic links and interpretive aspects are lost.