Paul Klee
Urban Development with Green Steeple, 1919
Watercolour, gouache, and pen and paper on cardboard, 30.3 x 13 cm
Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern
We probably have very different associations with the term “urban development” than this jumbled construction by Paul Klee. The “urban development” in the title suggests geometric structures, clear organization, and order. But Klee’s version seems to follow another set of rules, although structure, organization, and order are certainly present. We instantly recognize the planes subdivided into rectangles as walls, and several triangles resemble gabled roofs, which allows us to identify the church tower also referenced in the title. However, these gables and masonry swirl together, dematerializing. Circular and star-shaped structures reinforce the sense of a churning vortex. The fragmentary structure recalls Cubism, which the artist began experimenting with in 1912. Klee, however, developed an imaginative and colourful Cubism.