Paul Klee. The Angels

Catalogue of the exhibion held at the Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, October 26, 2012–January 20, 2013, the Museum Folkwang, Essen, February 1–April 20, 2013 and the Hamburger Kunsthalle, May 2–July 14, 2013. Paul Klee (1879–1940) produced a unique, extraordinarily popular group of works; higher beings not only stand for spirituality, but also for skepticism and doubt toward religion and questions of faith. This is the reason for their popularity: Klee’s angels are trapped in human form; they have weaknesses and blemishes, are forgetful and ugly, worried or playful—occasionally even satanic. To the artist, good and evil do not negate but creatively complement one another. About eighty depictions of angels, most of them created during the final years of Klee’s life, reflect both the fear of death and the physical fragility of the incurably ill as well as the artist’s sage wit, sense of humor, cheerfulness, and quiet manner. Besides the biographical references and iconographic phrases, the publication sheds light on individual works, such as Angelus Novus, which inspired Walter Benjamin to develop his legendary concept of the “Angel of History.”