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Lot Essay
In early 1930, Klee executed a number of compositions based on precise three-dimensional studies consisting of interlocking superimposed planes of color and crosshatching. Some of these works are purely mathematical and geometric in their layout, others have a more biomorphic feel and are imbued with a lyrical, almost humorous character. One such image is Zwillinge.
Discussing the way in which the artist introduced the human element into this and similar works from 1930, Grohmann observed:
...the structural pattern is primary; the construction results in a three-dimensional body in space; the system of struts, the transparency and perforation render these bodies mobile and changeable, while the absence of a fixed reference point transmutes the whole system into a hovering constellation.
Although Twins [the present work] is constructed like Sailing City, its metamorphic features [eyes and nose] have forced a modification of the intersecting quadrangles, a rounding of the corners, and a curving of the contours. Entire human figures may emerge from the schematic pattern as in Brothers and Sisters and Loaded Children [1930]. While the interplay of space and associative elements may be modified in various ways, it never produces volume--not even through added limbs or shaded edges. Any discrepancy between the structural system and the associative elements only serves to make the relationship of the two more expressive. In Family Outing [1930] [and similar works of that year such as Zwillinge], the precise unadorned geometry of the shapes appears to contradict their human significance to such a degree that the effect of the whole is comic--comedy based on form. (W. Grhman, op. cit.,, p. 282)
Discussing the way in which the artist introduced the human element into this and similar works from 1930, Grohmann observed:
...the structural pattern is primary; the construction results in a three-dimensional body in space; the system of struts, the transparency and perforation render these bodies mobile and changeable, while the absence of a fixed reference point transmutes the whole system into a hovering constellation.
Although Twins [the present work] is constructed like Sailing City, its metamorphic features [eyes and nose] have forced a modification of the intersecting quadrangles, a rounding of the corners, and a curving of the contours. Entire human figures may emerge from the schematic pattern as in Brothers and Sisters and Loaded Children [1930]. While the interplay of space and associative elements may be modified in various ways, it never produces volume--not even through added limbs or shaded edges. Any discrepancy between the structural system and the associative elements only serves to make the relationship of the two more expressive. In Family Outing [1930] [and similar works of that year such as Zwillinge], the precise unadorned geometry of the shapes appears to contradict their human significance to such a degree that the effect of the whole is comic--comedy based on form. (W. Grhman, op. cit.,, p. 282)