About this artwork

Klee’s technique of ‘taking a line for a walk’ allowed his hand to be free from rational control, creating the starting point for new images. Here, the labyrinth of interlocking horizontal and vertical lines is turned into a town by the simple addition of a roof. In this context, the delicately-sprayed clouds of pink and blue paint in the background become a dense snowstorm. Klee’s works had an enormous influence on the Surrealists (Masson and Miró, in particular), because they provided an example of how automatism could be used in art. This work was acquired by a private collector from the first exhibition of Klee’s work held in a public gallery in Britain, at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh in December 1934. It was later bequeathed to the National Galleries of Scotland.

Updated before 2020

see media
  • artist:
    Paul Klee (1879 - 1940) SwissGerman
  • title:
    Drohender Schneesturm, no. 291 [Threatening Snowstorm]
  • date created:
    1927
  • materials:
    Pen and coloured inks and watercolour on paper laid on card
  • measurements:
    49.90 x 31.60 cm (framed: 81.50 x 56.00 x 3.00 cm)
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Bequeathed by Miss Anna G. Blair in memory of Mr R.K. Blair, 1952
  • accession number:
    GMA 1015
  • gallery:
  • subject:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Tell us what you think.

Paul Klee

Paul Klee