| Cat and Bird | |
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| Artist | Paul Klee |
| Date | 1928 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Location | Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA |
| Paul Klee Famous Paintings | |
| Twittering Machine, 1922 | |
| Cat and Bird, 1928 | |
| Senecio, 1922 | |
| Ad Parnassum, 1932 | |
| Castle and Sun, 1928 | |
| Red Balloon, 1922 | |
| Fish Magic, 1925 | |
| Insula Dulcamara, 1938 | |
| Dream City, 1921 | |
| Complete Works |
An oil and ink on canvas, Cat and Bird, painted in 1928, is an animal painting in the Expressionism style. The cat appears to be “all head,” and the bird, on cat’s forehead, is symbolic of what the cat is thinking. Flying in the cat’s mind, the bird is a “secret” made visible to others. The cat’s red nose is tipped with a heart, symbolizing his “heart’s desire.”
Artistic Techniques and Styles
His abstract art was infused with references to poetry, music, literature, and humor, and reflected his imagination in those areas. Science and metaphysics played a huge role, and his coded symbolism was literature in art form. In his later life, upon returning to Bern, personal hardships and the political climate led to a more somber tone in his art.
Paul Klee
Born near Bern, Switzerland, in 1879, Paul Klee was not quite 20 years old when he began to train as a painter. The city of Munich, where his studies in drawing and painting began, drew him back again in 1911. His became involved with the German Expressionist group, Der Blaue Reiter, as well as with the influence of Picasso and Robert Delaunay. These involvements led him to abstraction, surrealism, and expressionism. A final nudge in this came through a trip to Tunisia.