Tunisia 1914

For his 50th birthday a long-cherished wish came true for Paul Klee. He traveled to Egypt from December 17, 1928, to January 17, 1929. The Klee Society, founded by the collector Otto Ralfs, paid the travel expenses. Paul Klee recorded his impressions on postcards and in letters, most of them to his wife Lili Klee in Dessau.

His appointment to the Bauhaus in 1921 not only meant material security for Klee, but also that he came to be regarded as one of the most important artists of his time. The institution was a nucleus of modern art and architecture. But despite all his enthusiasm for the intellectual exchange with the other artists – the strictures of his teaching activities and the multiple related tasks were a heavy burden on Klee. His own art suffered from such time-consuming teaching. He sought to relax and find inspiration for his art during vacations to the south of France, describing his impressions in letters to members of his family and his wife Lily.

Paul Klee’s journey to Tunisia has become mythic. It represents the artist’s breakthrough with colour. It was, in fact, the cubic architecture of Tunisia that encouraged Klee to adopt a new mode of composition. Together with the painters Louis Moilliet and August Macke, he travelled to Tunisia in April 1914, just a few weeks before the outbreak of the First World War. For two weeks, the three artists followed the usual tourist paths – from Tunis, via St. Germain and Hammamet, to Kairouan. Paul Klee recorded his impressions of the journey in his diary.

At the beginning of the 20th century, artists from all over Europe made the pilgrimage to Paris. The French metropolis had become the hub of the international avant-garde. A network of artists and gallerists created a breeding ground for the emergence of new movements in Modern Art, which were presented in startling exhibitions. In 1912 Paul Klee travelled to Paris. There he encountered the works of the Cubists and discovered in Robert Delaunay’s studio the colour fields of his abstract compositions. He discussed his travel plans with his school friend Ernst Sonderegger, who was living in Paris. His busy program was recorded in his diary.

After dropping out of his art studies with Franz von Stuck in Munich, Paul Klee embarked on a journey to Italy with the sculptor Hermann Haller, a friend from his home town of Bern, in October 1901. Visiting the famous cultural sites in Pisa, Rome, Naples, and Florence was still part of the course of studies undertaken by fledgling artists at the beginning of the 20th century. The two stayed in Italy for seven months. Paul Klee, who was 21 years old at the time of the journey, documented his impressions in diaries, postcards, as well as numerous letters, most of which were to his future wife Lili Stumpf in Munich, and his parents in Bern.

Paul Klee’s extraordinary pictorial worlds are the result of a complex artistic development. He was the recipient of forceful epiphanies during his travels, some of which he was only able to incorporate into his work years later. These were experiences with a long-lasting impact. Five such journeys will provide insights into Klee’s artistic development: from being a student full of doubts to one of the most important modern artists. But what makes his art so unique?Paul Klee documented his impressions in diaries, postcards, as well as numerous letters, most of which were to his future wife Lili Stumpf in Munich, his parents in Bern and his son Felix Klee.