Carnival in the Snow
1923
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
Artist
Paul Klee
Paul Klee (German: ; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist.
See the richer artist page1923
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Carnival in the Snow is a 1923 by Paul Klee, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see tiny acrobats and jugglers made of colored squares and triangles against a snowy background. Some figures share the same face or body, like a puzzle. Klee started this painting with no plan—just layers of shape and color. Only later did the circus performers appear. He thought simple forms could show feelings without telling a clear story. Look up other works by Paul Klee (German, 1879–1940) to see how he turned doodles into art.
In this watercolor, acrobats and circus jugglers emerge from a complex pattern of shapes and colors. Two jugglers share a face and torso. A member of Der Blaue Reiter group in Munich, Paul Klee believed that the elements of color and shape alone could carry connotations of emotions, moods, and subjective feelings. His method was to begin painting without a subject, only settling upon something that could be recognized after layering colored form upon colored form.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Paul Klee (German: ; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist.
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