Artwork Page for With the Dot

Details / Information for With the Dot

With the Dot

1916

Paul Klee

(German, 1879–1940)
Culture
Germany, 20th century
Medium
pen and black ink
Support
Blued white modern laid paper, tipped on to cream(2) wove paper (not original), hinged to a tertiary support of beige(2) wove paper (artist's mount)
Measurements
Sheet: 12.4 x 14.5 cm (4 7/8 x 5 11/16 in.); Secondary Support: 12.4 x 14.5 cm (4 7/8 x 5 11/16 in.); Tertiary Support: 24.4 x 31.9 cm (9 5/8 x 12 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
Contemporary Collection of The Cleveland Museum of Art 1961.50
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Paul Klee made this drawing during World War I. It shows a hovering figure, who could be saintly or demonic, overlooking a scene that includes a zeppelin, a decapitated child, a fallen soldier, and a recoiling (or attacking) figure. The soldier’s helmet displays a handle, implying the mechanized or dehumanized war machine. Klee’s title for the drawing includes the depiction of a point (•), which refers to the circular zeppelin or circle that frequently appeared in his drawings as a menacing omen. In 1915 Klee wrote: “The more horrifying this world becomes the more art becomes abstract; while a world at peace produces realistic art.”
A horizontally oriented ink drawing features spindly, geometric figures against a plain background. On the left, wiry lines support a dense, black orb. Centrally, a large-headed figure with a star-like mouth and dot eyes raises its arms. To the right, a face peers from a tilted oval head, followed by a crouching figure made of frenetic, intersecting lines and cross-hatching. The artist's signature is in the top right corner.

With the Dot

1916

Paul Klee

(German, 1879–1940)
Germany, 20th century

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