Demon above the Ships (Dämon über den Schiffen)
Paul Klee
German, born Switzerland. 1879–1940
1916
A watercolor-and-ink drawing in which Paul Klee assembles a towering, hybrid “démon” from looping, ribbonlike forms and flat geometric planes to loom over a miniature harbor.
You’re first struck by the interlaced, serpentine bands and angular wings that make up the figure, its bright starlike halo and pale crescent set against a deep-washed blue sky above tiny, schematic ships.
Painted in 1916, the sheet fuses childlike symbolism and abstract, machine-age geometry—an early demonstration of Klee’s lyrical, musical approach to line and color that helped expand the possibilities of modern abstraction in the wake of World War I.
Medium
Watercolor and ink on paper with ink border on board
Dimensions
9 3/8 x 8 1/8" (23.7 x 20.7 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest (by exchange)
Accession
122.1944
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
