How to Understand the Meaning Behind Symbols and Images in Paul Klee's Art: 4 Paintings and 1 Etching

Paul Klee's art is filled with hidden symbols that may at first appear to be hopelessly complex and/or nonsensical. However, when the symbols and methods Klee uses in his paintings are explained, as well as the reasons behind them, understanding Paul Klee's art becomes an easy task. (In order to gain a fuller understanding of the content of this article, it is advisable to have a copy of the art discussed available to which you can refer. 

The images of Klee’s work mentioned here should be easily accessible by going to www.google.com, clicking on the Images link, then putting the title of the artwork in quotes and searching for it). The 5 pieces discussed and/or mentioned in this article include Two Men Meet, Each Believing the Other to Be of Higher Rank (1903), Red and White Domes (1914), The Golden Fish (1925), Fish Magic, (1925), and Ad Parnassum (1932).

To understand Paul Klee's paintings, we must first know a little bit about his personality and life. Klee was a fairly introverted Swiss Expressionist painter who lived from 1879 to 1941. Klee grew up in a very musical family, and played the violin in his youth. He had a hard time deciding whether to major in art or music in college, but finally chose art. Because of this, he elects to describe many of his paintings in musical terms, and consciously tries to paint in a way that evokes a sense of musicality (immaterial and flowing). Klee died in 1940 just at the start of WWII, the victim of a collagen disease (disease affecting the connecting tissue, i.e. muscles) called scleroderma . His art contains a mix of influences, ranging from surrealism to cubism to primitive/child’s art.

Klee’s etching from 1903, Two Men Meet, Each Believing the Other to Be of Higher Rank, depicts two naked men bowing at each other in a remote wasteland. The etching is Klee’s way of voicing his displeasure at the hierarchical system of Central Europe where he lived. He considers the strict system of rank ridiculous and degrading. The men in the etching are both bowing to one another in case either one of them wears a higher-ranking uniform when clothed.