Rechnender Greis (Old Man Reckoning)

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Rechnender Greis (Old Man Reckoning)

Artist Paul Klee (Swiss, 1879-1940)

Date1929

DimensionsOverall: 22 1/4 x 17 1/2 in. (56.5 x 44.5 cm);
Plate: 11 3/4 x 9 3/8 in. (30 x 23.8 cm)

MediumEtching

ClassificationPrints

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1984.82

Not on View

Label TextPaul Klee, the wonderfully inventive Swiss painter and graphic artist who spent much of his career in Germany, created works full of playful yet probing insights, whimsy, and wit. Of the approximately 9,000 works Klee produced in his lifetime, virtually half were done while he was on the faculty of the Bauhaus (the innovative German art school in Weimer and later Dessau) from 1921 to 1931. This etching was made towards the end of Klee’s years there. During this period, Klee would often vacation in warm southern regions. In 1929, prior to creating this print, Klee traveled to Egypt. In this print, Klee’s wiry lines conjure the head of a man against a background of horizontal striations, which have been likened to the strata of the Nile River landscape, while also suggesting the layering of successive civilizations. With a delightfully child-like style of drawing, Klee renders a pondering figure. Could he possibly be reflecting on the nature of existence and the march of time?Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, Looks Good on Paper: Masterworks and Favorites, Oct. 10, 2014-Jan. 11, 2015.

Toledo Museum of Art, Werner Pfeiffer Selects, Feb. 13-May 10, 2015.