When I picked up the Paul Klee Diaries it fell open to the sentence every artist must secretly yearn to see: "...I am still incapable of painting, in spite of my sharp observation of tonal values and inspite of my clever way of determining the proper gradations of light and dark." Well! If he had trouble, there must be hope for the rest of us! The diaries, edited by his son and published posthumously, cover his 19th to 40th years as he travels, attends concerts, draws, paints and engages in intense artistic discourse with friends like Kandinsky and Macke. An exquisite writer, Klee captures whole experiences in a few brief words. The book is a chronicle of the development of both the artist and the art of his time. I especially liked the precise descriptions of his drawing experiments and periodic review of his progress. His grasp of techniques and insights into the creative process can be returned to again and again.

This charming book is presented as a children's book, but is suitable for all ages. The large, beautiful illustrations and reproductions coupled with the whimsical text make this imaginative book a delight to look at and read. Small children will appreciate the bright colors of the artworks, and the parents will appreciate the inventive way the author introduces an artist to children - without pretension or difficulty. Any parent wishing to raise culturally educated children should buy this book today! (PS: I say this with experience, both my 3 year old and my 10 year old love this book, but for very different reasons -- and I even catch my husband flipping through it at times)

This artist gives us a big gift. He shares with us his perspective of Life. The art of Klee is positive, colorfull, visual, and very meaningfull. Well, this book is a nice substitution to the real collection. The colors of Klee show emotions. He colors the world... with hope...

This slim volume is the text of a lecture Klee delivered in 1924 on the occasion of the opening of a museum exhibit of modern art. It is both an educational lecture on color and form and an explanation of modern art that largely escapes being a defense. Klee's discourse is not simply an historical piece. It is as valid today as it was when he delivered it seventy-two years ago. Klee was Kandinsky's neighbor during the years they both taught at the Bauhaus. They shared more than the basement that connected their duplex apartments; they shared a belief in art as a spiritual pursuit.

This is an efficient and careful monograph that succeeds on many levels. Grohmann was Klee's biographer and longtime friend. He is respectful without being sycophantic, and thorough but never plodding. He uses a variety of source materials, including Klee's own writings (diaries and letters). Grohmann establishes Klee's lasting importance to art and to painting by asserting, "It is as though he were still among us, to be consulted on every problem of life and art." Grohmann's generous(40 pages, 58 illustrations) and lively essay on Klee is also charming and personal. It combines biography, criticism, a wealth of references, and thought-provoking appreciation. It's generously illustrated with photographs of Klee and his studio, plus ink, tusche, chalk, and pencil drawings, collage, watercolor, tempera, and oil paintings, a woodcut study, and etchings.

The text that accompanies the following forty color plates (a selection of paintings) is the calm, clear art criticism that Grohmann is so good at. The plates' reproduced colors are good but not great. What's best is that Grohmann is such an able teacher. He describes each painting straightforwardly, and then asks intelligent questions, suggests answers that seem well-thought-out, and inspires one to further thought and research. His friendship with Klee gave him some additional understanding of his friend's work and lifelong passions and motives.

A very worthwhile book on a great artist.

I have been reading all of the volumes in the Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series that I can find and as a general rule I have found them informative and entertaining introductions for young readers to the lives and works of Botticelli, Goya, Picasso and many others. But in reading Mike Venezia's volume on Paul Klee I think I may well have discovered my favorite artist of the 20th century (a separate issue from favorite illustrator, which would be Barry Windsor-Smith). I must have seen a work or two by Klee at some point in my sojourn through life, but I was quite impressed by the dozen or so examples of his work found here. Venezia explains at one point that many of Klee's greatest paintings are just colors and shapes, using "Fire at Evening" as the only example, which is fine with me because that was pretty much the only painting in the volume I would not mind having on a wall somewhere in the house.

It is not like Klee does the same thing over and over again. "The Goldfish" is quite different from "Around the Fish" (see cover), although I clearly a preference for watercolor and pen artwork, such as "Carnival in the Mountains" and "Twittering Machine." My favorite is "Magic Garden" and I think the great attraction of Klee for young readers is that his artwork is pretty much something they can do in their own art classes or at home. As always, this book is illustrated with not only works by Klee, but by some of his closest contemporaries (which only helps to prove his superiority) as well as Venezia's cartoons, which emphasize key events or aspects of Klee's life (e.g., tracing patterns he saw in marble table tops at his Uncle Ernst's restaurant). I look forward to other volumes in this series about abstract artists, but I am pretty sure I am not going to change my mind about liking Klee best. Sorry guys.

This hardback was issued by the museum when the Klee show toured the USA. It was a spectacular show that captured the essence of this 20th century artistic genius and I was fortunate enough to see the show and buy the book. Paul Klee explored just about every art style there was in his quest to develop modern art and his seemingly simplest paintings were usually his best. Klee lived an often traumatic life as well and when you are exposed to all of his works, you can easily see that quality in his paintings. I found the most eloquent ones were the ones he did as he approached his own painful death. The book does a tour de force job of covering the paintings which were in the show, which is the way the show now lives on.

I recently discovered the work of Paul Klee and have already decided that he is my favorite 20th century artist. Looking for other books about Klee I found this Art for Children Series book by Ernest Lloyd Raboff. This is very much an art appreciation book, with Raboff explaining the specifics of the various paintings, prints, or drawings. Young readers will learn about the symbols used by the artist and some of the possible interpretations as to the meaning of some of these works. There are over a dozen full-color reproductions of Klee's works along with a like number of smaller drawings and designs.

I had commented earlier that Klee's work would be especially interesting to youngsters because a lot of what he did would be the sort of things kids would be doing in their art classes, combining water colors and pen work, for example. Raboff makes Klee's works even more accessible by writing the text in different color markers, giving the book the feel of a school project. By the time young readers finish this book they will understand Klee's belief that an artist must "learn how to look beyond the surface and get to the roots of things." That particular point is evidenced by Klee's entire body of work.

I recently discovered the work of Paul Klee and have already decided that he is my favorite 20th century artist. Looking for other books about Klee I found this Art for Children Series book by Ernest Lloyd Raboff. This is very much an art appreciation book, with Raboff explaining the specifics of the various paintings, prints, or drawings. Young readers will learn about the symbols used by the artist and some of the possible interpretations as to the meaning of some of these works. There are over a dozen full-color reproductions of Klee's works along with a like number of smaller drawings and designs.

I had commented earlier that Klee's work would be especially interesting to youngsters because a lot of what he did would be the sort of things kids would be doing in their art classes, combining water colors and pen work, for example. Raboff makes Klee's works even more accessible by writing the text in different color markers, giving the book the feel of a school project. By the time young readers finish this book they will understand Klee's belief that an artist must "learn how to look beyond the surface and get to the roots of things." That particular point is evidenced by Klee's entire body of work.

This book is a very good introduction to the artistic work of Paul Klee. The author explains in easy and helpful manner how the music influenced the painting production of Klee. A carefully attention is given how Klee tried to reproduce musical concepts as poliphony and rhythm in his painting. The book is rich in good quality photos. The only lacks are the absence of a bibliography and Duechting doesn't tell any anectodes about Klee, because anectodes are very usefull to remember the works and the life of artists. I advice to read this book all people they are interesting in modern painting.

This beautifully illustrated and wonderfully informative monograph is devoted to the reasonable (and wholly accepted) thesis that Paul Klee's dedication to, and love for, musical forms informed his prolific life in art, specifically drawing and painting. Duchting has chosen illustrations that consistently reinforce his assertions. The commentary is smart, informed, and lively. Even if you dozed in Art History, this book is excellent. Duchting has done his homework, consulting Klee's own (published) diaries, notebooks, and sketchbooks, and the extensive writings of Klee friend and biographer Will Grohmann, and additional early biographers. In addition Duchting has spent a lot of time looking at the paintings themselves. Some of Klee's incredible lecture notes (which you must see to believe) from his years of teaching art are included, as are several quick drawings and works of artists who were associated with Klee.

This book has terrific production values. The paper is good,and the approximately 100 color reproductions are exquisite. Photographs of Klee, his wife Lily, and his studio. Page layout is a visual treat. It's really a gem of a book, right down to the lemon-yellow endpapers. There is a a short biography, pages of good endnotes, and a 'Selected Bibliography' (page 111).