Paul Klee: Selected by Genius

We were fortunate to have obtained a windfall of 9 Klee books: This book presents quite a punch. The new kid (book) in town (2007). Wonderfully ingrains Klee into his era and into art history. Limited to his 'master years' 1917 - 1933. None the less a great representation of Klee's genius. 13 reproductions plus 80 fantastic plates. Great color quality. And a wonderful selection of his works. Alot of pictures not readily available in most klee books. Starts with the history of his dramatic artistic output and his art story. Ends with his personal and family history. Many photos of Klee. This is THE gem of all the Klee books. Please see our other Klee reviews

The size of the book is a little small. However, the quantity and quality of the images is definitely worth the price.

I found a few color repros in this book that I haven't seen in other books.I like most of the selections with the exception of a few that look like Kandinsky.Yet, I prefer the Kandinskys that are similar to Klee.I have a large collection of postcards of Klee from museums,I am always on the lookout for Klees that I haven't seen The reproductions are very good.I have over 40 books on Klee. I have visited the Klee Foundation collection in Berne.The Klees in the Philips collection + MOMA and the Guggenheim,.Lenbachaus (Munich)I went to MOMA's Klee exhibition awhile back...you had to wait in line to see each piece.This book is well worth the price .Others have commented on the high quality of the design of the book.The essays are a worthwhile read.Especially the piece on the presentation of Klee's work, his method of mounting drawings and watercolors,sometimes adding color to the border of a work,His mounting of paper over burlap. Only a few books reproduce the work with the frame showing.. This discussion is something that is not found in the plethora of literature on Klee. Number one mentions Klee's extensive influence on modern painters. They fail to mention Picasso, (from a Picasso museum catalogue) ---"Picasso did many of the drawings for Guernica after meeting Klee in Suisse,that may have been influenced by Klee".They do discuss the culture of experimentation that both artists shared.To really understand Klee it is a good idea to buy every book you can on this wonderful artist. A pervasive attitude during the fifties was:the work is a secret..My problem in buying books : I read the essays right away..the first day.In this case 36 pages. The fifteen dollars is still worthwhile because of the gorgeous plates of Klee's work.I continue to look at the work more than any prolix essays.The type of soft cover of this type holds up well over time.This is a book you can take to bed with you and study a painting ..and pleasantly send you off to dream land!