Paul Klee: The Art Composer

Back in mid-April, I visited the Paul Klee, Solitary and Solidary exhibition at the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art.

As a kid, I was exposed to the art of Paul Klee due to my mother's love for his works. We had his catalogs and a poster of his Rich Harbor (Picture of a Journey) in the house. It wasn't until much later as an adult that I learned that Klee played the violin, and how he had a complex relationship with music throughout his life.

Rich Harbor (Picture of a Journey). A poster of Klee's 1938 painting that my mother bought when she visited Switzerland, before I was even born. Once vibrant and electrifying, all the color has now practically faded.

Composing as a Painter

The Paul Klee exhibition was lively, intense yet sentimental, with works from all of his stylistic periods, from his pencil drawings as a twenty year old all the way to his final works. I honestly had no idea how entrenched Klee's vision was with music, and after seeing so many of his works up close now, I can see how - particularly in his later works - that certain shapes, lines and shades are layered and organized in ways that could only be described as "musical."

In Klee's art, the lines, colors and shapes appear to be treated as separate entities that develop, transform and sometimes even clash - there is movement among these elements and how they interact. This combination of multiple movements by distinct visual elements within one image seemingly creates the effect of "harmony" - an idea created by combining different and distinct sounds.

Town End. 1926, 137. Taken at the 2025 Paul Klee exhibition at Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art.

Hoffmannesque Scene. 1921. Taken at the 2025 Paul Klee exhibition at Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art.

Rather than simply creating a visual representation of music, I felt as if Klee actively composed music through art. He just used visual elements instead of sound. Even though I can't literally hear it, when I look at a piece by Klee, I see and feel rhythm, texture, dissonance, progression, and even dynamics.

It made me wonder if perhaps sound is not the only way to express oneself musically, especially when done so effectively as Klee has. Could the idea of music be much more abstract? Are musicians truly the only ones making music out there?

Harmony of the Northern Flora. 1927, 144. Taken at the 2025 Paul Klee exhibition at Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art.

Harmony of Rectangles with Red, Yellow, Blue, White and Black. 1923, 238. Taken at the 2025 Paul Klee exhibition at Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art.

Listening to the Silenced

In the section of Klee's final works, I read about how Klee was targeted by the Nazi regime; how he ended up losing his job at the Düsseldorf Academy, and how several of his works were seized and even featured in a "degenerate art" exhibition in 1937.

Reading this in 2025 made me wonder exactly how far have we actually come in fighting against oppression and protecting freedom of expression.

It also made me realize, as I stood in that museum surrounded by Klee's works, that Klee might have been one of the luckier ones. Not all of the artists and musicians labeled as "degenerate" survived the Nazi regime, and even if they did, it wasn't guaranteed that their works or career were safe either. In Klee's case, there are people that have constantly ensured his legacy and artwork survive for the past 80 years since his passing, not just in Europe but all across the globe. And it is precisely why, here in Japan in 2025, that I am able to receive his message in this exhibition.

It is important to listen to the ones that managed to overcome oppression. It is also equally, if not more, important to remember that many, many more just simply did not survive, and that there are many voices that still deserve to be heard and preserved - even if it takes time.