Paul Klee, August Macke, Louis Moilliet: The Journey to Tunisia 1914
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,History & Criticism
Paul Klee, August Macke, Louis Moilliet: The Journey to Tunisia 1914 Details
Watercolors, sketchbooks, journal entries, photographs and other documents of the famous journey taken by Paul Klee, August Macke and Louis Moillet in 1914 are presented here in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the voyage, a comprehensive tribute honoring the significance to art history of the artists’ journey. When Klee and his fellow painters Macke and Moilliet left for Tunisia in April 1914, a cornucopia of impressions awaited them in Tunis, St. Germain, Hammamet and Kairouan. They departed from the anecdotal Orientalism of the nineteenth century, abstracting their motifs and transforming them into ornamental shapes and crystalline structures. Their surprising, innovative images are today a highlight of early modernism. Klee went the furthest. For him, color became the most important creative tool; he dissolved the object in planes of color, the visual construct became a pattern that he covered in arabesques and symbols.
Reviews
Wonderful book covering the work of three Swiss/German artists done on a short visit to Tunisia in 1914. The trip was a bit of a lark for the three friends, instigated largely by Paul Klee. Klee came away with the most art pieces from the 3-week stay and the relatively exotic climes apparently pushed his art considerably toward brighter color and compatible shapes. Some remarkable work done there.Klee's companions, Auguste Macke and Louis Moilliet were also under the thrall of the place and Macke produced some really wonderful watercolors and drawings during the sejour. This was a stroke for posterity as the artist was killed a short time later on the Western Front of World War I.The scholarship and quality illustrations included in this art book are first-rate. A good thing that, as color is more or less of primary importance in the work of the artists, particularly Klee, at this time in their careers. A great addition to any art library.
