The Museums of Strasbourg
Director of Museums
Fabrice Hergott

Curator of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art :
Emmanuel Guigon

organizer and Head of
the Educational Service :
Margaret Pfenninger
Museum of Modern and
Contemporary Art
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F-67000 Strasbourg
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Marie Ollier
Gwenaëlle Serre
Cathy Letard
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Paul Klee and the Nature of Art
A Devotion to small things
26th March – 20th June 2004
Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

Based on the generous philosophy which underpins the many texts, jottings and lectures written by Paul Klee, this exhibition, by juxtaposing Klee’s art with nature, will attempt to shed some light on the complex inner reality behind the poetic and enchanted surface of his works.
Among the many themes that were dear to Paul Klee’s heart, the one which is at the core of this exhibition is the Andacht zum Kleinen, that is, the devotion to small things, an expression used early on by the artist to describe his work. Not so much a recurrent theme as a real lifelong way of looking at the world, this attentiveness to minute events embraces both the natural and the artistic fields: these range from microscopic details of creatures or plants to tiny pictorial elements such as dots, lines, gradations of colour.
By focusing on these very basic elements, Paul Klee succeeds, using the simplest means and the smallest formats, in revealing the functioning and rules of the universe as he understands them. In his humble and attentive way, he conveys in his works a respect for the Other, regardless of any hierarchy of things and creatures, and imbues this miniature world with its own dignity and greatness.
Yet the choice of this theme as an introduction to the art of Paul Klee does not stem from a purely philosophical approach. This will also be an occasion to explore the very sources that fed into his teaching at the Bauhaus. The underlying principles of the natural order, of visual perception and of pictorial theory will be touched upon, thus enabling the visitor to enjoy the full complexity of Paul Klee’s art.
The exhibition “Paul Klee and the nature of art” will offer an itinerary of over 100 works, some of them dating from his Bauhaus period (1921-1931); in addition, it will feature a selection from his lectures hitherto unpublished in France, his true pedagogical legacy, as well as works of art, images and scientific models illustrating the conception and perception of nature in early twentieth-century Germany. This exhibition is supported by the Berne Paul-Klee-Stiftung, and is also the fortunate recipient of many exceptional loans from both public and private collections throughout Europe. It has enjoyed the valuable collaboration of the researchers of the Louis Pasteur University.
In addition to its lavishly illustrated catalogue, a CD-ROM on Paul Klee’s teaching will complement the exhibition. This CD-ROM is co-produced by the Centre Régional de Documentation Pédagogique d’Alsace, the Institut Universitaire de Formation de Maîtres and the Strasbourg Museums who have joined recently to form a national pool of resources.