Boy in Fancy Dress

Paul Klee built this costumed figure from a dense field of small, variegated watercolor and gouache marks. Strong linear accents define the face, broad collar, torso, and narrow legs while allowing the surrounding grid of color to remain visible through the figure. The repeated blocks create a mosaic-like surface in which figure and background share the same visual fabric. The work belongs to Klee's late Bauhaus period, the year he left the school to teach at the Düsseldorf Academy.