Paul Klee

In 1940, Paul Klee died at the age of 60. He devoted his final years to making thousands of drawings. In small scenes, he captured human life and coexistence – often with humour and satire, holding a mirror up to us. In this drawing, a tree bends over toward a reclining figure. And, so, we arrive at the title “Dialogue between Tree and Man.” What are they talking about? Klee uses humour to make it clear how closely nature and humans are connected.

An ecosystem is a community of different plants and animals as well as the inanimate environment around them. They are all interrelated and are thus interdependent. A change can have major consequences and alter the entire ecosystem. For example, if the bees die out in an area, then the plants or trees are no longer pollinated, so they cannot bear fruit and reproduce. We humans are also part of an ecosystem – we alone have acquired many techniques to live as independently as possible from specific ecosystems. We are mobile, we build houses … and we people are the creatures that have the greatest impact on ecosystems – through our CO2 emissions, for example, or even just by building roads.