Garden Figure 1940

Paul Klee made this oil transfer drawing, Garden Figure, on paper in an unknown year. It is hard to ignore Klee’s unique visual language. He simplifies the figure into near abstraction, using flat planes and geometric shapes to depict a figure in a garden setting. Klee was teaching at the Bauhaus during a time of great social upheaval in Germany. The Bauhaus was an institution that sought to unite art, craft, and technology. Klee's work reflected a desire to explore the relationship between humans and their environment. You could argue that this piece comments on the increasing urbanization and industrialization of society, as nature becomes more abstract and artificial. The figure appears alienated, perhaps a critique of modern social structures. Understanding the artist's biography, the history of the Bauhaus, and social histories of the period can provide a deeper understanding of this artwork's meaning and significance. Art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.