A work made of watercolor, with stippling, pen and black ink, blue pencil, and bands of mauve gouache, on ivory laid paper, laid down on ivory wove card.

The Malady

1926

Paul Klee German, born Switzerland, 1879-1940

Germany

While this watercolor may initially appear completely abstract, upon closer inspection a figure emerges from the layered forms. A body has been shaped from parallel lines, which give the appearance of exposed musculature. The figure appears trapped by the approaching darkness on all sides, and a single drop of blood falls from his mouth as another threatens to fall from above. The pain of the subject is palpable: the cross on the left, a symbol of the Crucifixion, enhances this sense of suffering.

Watercolor, with stippling, pen and black ink, blue pencil, and bands of mauve gouache, on ivory laid paper, laid down on ivory wove card

Prints and Drawings