ID 717858 
Lot 451  | PAUL KLEE (1879-1940)
Estimate value
£ 80 000 – 120 000 
Explosion
signed 'Klee' (upper left); dated, numbered and inscribed '1927.Y.10. Explosion' and 'S. Cl' (on the artist's mount)
watercolour and pen and ink with Spritztechnik on paper laid down on the artist's mount
image: 8 7⁄8 x 12 in. (22.5 x 30.4 cm.)
artist's mount: 15 1⁄2 x 18 in. (39.3 x 45.7 cm.)
Executed in 1927
Provenance
Lily Klee, Bern, by descent from the artist.
Klee-Gesellschaft, Bern, by whom acquired from the above in 1946, and until 1950.
Galerie Berggruen & Cie., Paris.
Arthur Kauffmann, London, and thence by descent to the present owner.
Literature
C. Hopfengart, 'Klee an den deutschen "Museen der Gegenwart", 1916-1933', in Paul Klee, Kunst und Karriere, Beiträge des Internationalen Symposiums, Bern, 2000, p. 82.
The Paul Klee Foundation, ed., Paul Klee, Catalogue raisonné, vol. V, 1927-1930, Bern, 2001, no. 4464, p. 145 (illustrated).
Exh. cat., Paul Klee – Making Visible, London, 2013, p. 26.
S. Martinez Vilajuana, Hacer de una imagen pensamiento. Llíneas, fuerzas, color. Un encuentro entre Paul Klee y Gilles Deleuze, dis., Universidad de Chile, 2018, pp. 164 & 216 (illustrated).
B. Kieselbach, 'Die Bauhaustapete in Hannes Meyers Wanderschau 1929⁄1930', in Zwitscher-Maschine, Journal on Paul Klee, no. 8, Bern, Spring 2020, no. 8, p. 27.
O. Okuda, 'Paul Klee's Werke in der Bauhaus Wanderschau im Kunstgewerbemuseum Zürich, July - August 1930', in Zwitscher-Maschine, Journal on Paul Klee, no. 8, Bern, Spring 2020, p. 78 (illustrated).
Exhibited
Berlin, Galerie Alfred Flechtheim, Paul Klee, March - April 1928, no. 49, p. 12 (titled 'Aquarelle').
Dessau, Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie, Paul Klee - Aquarelle aus Zehn Jahren 1920-1929, October - November 1929, no. 62.
Dessau, Staatliches Bauhaus, 10 Jahre Bauhaus, 1920 bis 1930, January - February 1930; this exhibition later travelled to Essen, Museum Folkwang, Febrary - April 1930, Mannheim, Städtische Kunsthalle, May - June 1930, and Zurich, Kunstgewerbemuseum, July - August 1930.
Dessau, Staatliches Bauhaus Dessau, Aquarelle, April - May 1931.
Basel, Galerie Bettie Thommen, Paul Klee, September - October 1942.
Bern, Zentrum Paul Klee, Paul Klee, Sonderklasse, Unverkäuflich, October 2014 - February 2015, no. 183, p. 365 (illustrated); this exhibition later travelled to Leipzig, Museum der bildenden Künste, March - May 2015, no. 183 (illustrated).
Paris, Centre Pompidou, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paul Klee, L'ironie à l'œuvre, April - August 2016, pp. 146 & 304 (illustrated p. 146).
Munich, Pinakothek der Moderne, Paul Klee, Konstruktion des Geheimnisses, March - June 2018, no. 82, p. 435 (illustrated p. 317).
| Artist: | Paul Klee (1879 - 1940) | 
|---|---|
| Applied technique: | Painted, Watercolor | 
| Medium: | Acrylic glass, Paper, Plastic | 
| Art style: | Modern art | 
| Place of origin: | Western Europe, Germany, Europe | 
| Category: | Drawings | 
| Auction house category: | All other types of objects, Drawings | 
| Artist: | Paul Klee (1879 - 1940) | 
|---|---|
| Applied technique: | Painted, Watercolor | 
| Medium: | Acrylic glass, Paper, Plastic | 
| Art style: | Modern art | 
| Place of origin: | Western Europe, Germany, Europe | 
| Category: | Drawings | 
| Auction house category: | All other types of objects, Drawings | 
| Address of auction | 
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London United Kingdom  | |
|---|---|---|
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| Phone | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |
| Buyer Premium | see on Website | |
| Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase | 











