The Attack's Matter, Spirit and Symbol
攻撃の物質、精神、象徴
- Birth Year
- 1879
- Death Year
- 1940
- Date
- 1922
- Technique, Material, Format
- oil transfer drawing and watercolor on paper mounted on cardboard
- Dimension
- 33.3 x 47.5 cm
- Category
- Watercolor or Drawing by Foreign Artist
- Inventory Number
- 83-DRF-008
The picture shows three forms each reminiscent of human figures. It was made by Paul Klee using his “oil transfer” method, by which he would trace over the lines of an original picture so that they would be transferred onto a second piece of paper.
Klee made over 300 of these oil transfer works during his lifetime. The lines created using this technique are uniquely textured, in contrast to the smoothness of hand-drawn lines. They also have an unevenness that stems from discrepancies in pressure applied during the tracing and also chafing in the paper. Making a virtue out of these elements of chance, the oil transfer technique clearly demonstrates the artist’s enthusiasm for pursuing all manner of possibilities for line art.
(MATSUNAGA Shintaro)