Paul Klee

Paul Klee (1879–1940) was a Swiss-born German artist renowned for his highly individual style influenced by expressionism, cubism, and surrealism, as well as his deep exploration of color theory documented in his influential Pedagogical Sketchbook. Born near Bern, Switzerland, he studied in Munich, joined the Bauhaus in 1920, and taught there until 1931 before returning to Switzerland amid Nazi persecution of his 'degenerate' art. Klee produced around 10,000 works, mostly small-scale watercolors and drawings, and died in Locarno after a long illness.