Tannhäuser

Currently not on view

Tannhäuser

1924

Paul Klee (Swiss, 1879–1940)

The figure represented in this drawing is that of Tannhäuser, the protagonist in the opera of the same name by the nineteenth-century German composer Richard Wagner. The scrolls-similar in shape to the musical notation for the treble clef, the f-shaped holes on a violin, and the lyre that adorns Tannhäuser's head-aptly convey the work's musical subject.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Tannhäuser

Date:

1924

Artist:

Paul Klee (Swiss, 1879–1940)

Medium:

Pen and black ink over charcoal on paper, mounted on board inscribed by the artist

Dimensions:

Sheet: 18 1/2 x 11 7/8 inches (47 x 30.2 cm) Mount: 20 3/8 x 13 9/16 inches (51.8 x 34.4 cm)

Classification:

Drawings

Credit Line:

The Louis E. Stern Collection, 1963

Accession Number:

1963-181-158

Geography:

Made in Europe

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Currently not on view