Paul Klee
Manhunt, 1933
Pencil on paper on cardboard, 23/23,2 x 32,3 cm
Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern
In 1933, the National Socialists assumed power in Germany. Klee was affected by this political situation. In a comprehensive series of drawings, he revealed its consequences. In doing so, he did not use any beautiful or elegant lines. Instead, he scrawled figures onto the paper. The line became a seismograph: it mirrored an atmosphere of oppression and violence. It is likely that Klee deliberately used an “ugly” and agitated style to reflect this period – the direct opposite of National Socialist aesthetic ideals.