Artwork
Persische Nachtigallen (Persian Nightingales)
Persische Nachtigallen (Persian Nightingales) is an ink drawing by Paul Klee. It dates from 1917 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:on sheet upper left in pen and ink: Klee; on mount lower left in pen and ink: 1917 92; on mount lower right in pen and ink: Persische Nachtigallen
About this work
Overview
Created in 1917, Persische Nachtigallen is a mixed-media drawing by Paul Klee that combines gouache, watercolor, pen and black ink applied over a graphite underdrawing on laid paper, which is then mounted on cardboard and finished with a yellow paper strip at the top. The composition presents an array of abstract forms in pink, blue, black and yellow against a muted beige‑white ground.
Subject & Meaning
The work does not depict a literal scene; instead it suggests a gathering of stylized nightingales through a blend of geometric and organic shapes that hint at birds, flowers and decorative motifs. The title invites viewers to associate the abstract language with the lyrical quality of Persian nightingales, emphasizing a poetic rather than narrative intent.
Technique & Style
Fine pen and ink lines overlay these washes, creating intricate patterns and delineating forms.
Klee employed a layered process: a graphite sketch establishes the composition, followed by washes of gouache and watercolor that provide color fields and texture. Fine pen and ink lines overlay these washes, creating intricate patterns and delineating forms. The juxtaposition of flat color areas with detailed line work reflects Klee’s ongoing exploration of abstraction, informed by expressionist vigor, cubist fragmentation, and surrealist imagination.
History & Provenance
The drawing was produced during Klee’s wartime period in Germany, a time when his artistic output increasingly turned toward symbolic abstraction. While specific ownership details are limited, the piece remains part of the documented oeuvre that illustrates Klee’s experimental phase and his contributions to early 20th‑century modernism.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Paul Klee (German:; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist.
