Lot Essay
Klee was a devotee of music and a keen musician himself. It is nonetheless unusual to find in the artist's work a major example that draws upon the inspiration of music and even rarer to discover an homage to that most dramatic of musical events--the opera.
This "prelude" to a performance reveals a theatre set, animated by an orchestra and sparkling audience, as well as the scene behind the stage. In encompassing us in such a broad panorama, the artist places us in his canvas as if we were in the audience surrounded by music.
On an artistic level, Klee penetrated the spiritual heart of the musical experience. On an analytical level, he was a superb observer and critic, as we know from his diaries. In Bern, at the age of twenty-six, he wrote:
The performance of the Barber was excellent. At last an
Almaviva, his voice was like a violin. The little Bonci
would have sung the part much the same! Rosina (Pacini)
ravishing, not at all insipid, youthful verve throughout.
Great vocal technique, the orchestra did not sound delicate
enough. Massenet: Chérubin, well manufactured music,
but manufactured. Louise a contrived work of the
purest sort. Both performances at the Opéra Comique
very accomplished, distinguished more for the skillful
ensembles than for outstanding soloists. Armide...was
a great event. First this man Gluck. A sense of style without
any fumbling experimentation. Not the individual will of
a conductor. Total achievement. Fine ballets. Splendid
orchestra. (ed. F. Klee, The Diaries of Paul Klee
1898-1918, Los Angeles, 1964, pp. 182-183)
S. N. Behrman (1893-1973) who purchased this picture in or around 1939 was a distinguished dramatist, journalist and author. Biography and No Time for Comedy are among the more than two dozen plays written during his prolific career. Also creator of many short stories and screenplays, he will always be remembered for his vivid portraits of two 20th century luminaries: "the incomparable Max" Beerbohm and the legendary art dealer Joseph Duveen.
This "prelude" to a performance reveals a theatre set, animated by an orchestra and sparkling audience, as well as the scene behind the stage. In encompassing us in such a broad panorama, the artist places us in his canvas as if we were in the audience surrounded by music.
On an artistic level, Klee penetrated the spiritual heart of the musical experience. On an analytical level, he was a superb observer and critic, as we know from his diaries. In Bern, at the age of twenty-six, he wrote:
The performance of the Barber was excellent. At last an
Almaviva, his voice was like a violin. The little Bonci
would have sung the part much the same! Rosina (Pacini)
ravishing, not at all insipid, youthful verve throughout.
Great vocal technique, the orchestra did not sound delicate
enough. Massenet: Chérubin, well manufactured music,
but manufactured. Louise a contrived work of the
purest sort. Both performances at the Opéra Comique
very accomplished, distinguished more for the skillful
ensembles than for outstanding soloists. Armide...was
a great event. First this man Gluck. A sense of style without
any fumbling experimentation. Not the individual will of
a conductor. Total achievement. Fine ballets. Splendid
orchestra. (ed. F. Klee, The Diaries of Paul Klee
1898-1918, Los Angeles, 1964, pp. 182-183)
S. N. Behrman (1893-1973) who purchased this picture in or around 1939 was a distinguished dramatist, journalist and author. Biography and No Time for Comedy are among the more than two dozen plays written during his prolific career. Also creator of many short stories and screenplays, he will always be remembered for his vivid portraits of two 20th century luminaries: "the incomparable Max" Beerbohm and the legendary art dealer Joseph Duveen.