Paul Klee

Art does not reproduce what we see; rather, it makes us see.

Democracy with its semi-civilization sincerely cherishes junk. The artist’s power should be spiritual. But the power of the majority is material. When these worlds meet occasionally, it is pure coincidence.

Trying to paint according to a general rule means renouncing the wealth of the soul.

To emphasize only the beautiful seems to me to be like a mathematical system that only concerns itself with positive numbers.

The art of mastering life is the prerequisite for all further forms of expression, whether they are paintings, sculptures, tragedies, or musical compositions.

The more horrifying this world becomes, the more art becomes abstract.

- All from Paul Klee, 1879 - 1940

About: Paul Klee was born at Münchenbuchsee (near Bern), Switzerland on 18 Dec in 1879. At first he planned to follow a musical career like the rest of his family, but turned to the visual arts and went to München (Munich) to train at the Academy of Fine Arts, meeting many of the leading avant garde artists of the day in his life there after graduating. He served in the Kaiser's army as a medic, then taught art at the Bauhaus and later at Düsseldorf before the Nazis declared his work "degenerate" and sent him packing. He spent the rest of his life in Switzerland, a major new museum was built at Bern, to house and show his work.