Paul Klee: On Modern Art (1945–) [DE, EN, TR]

“Paul Klee’s short treatise on modern art was prepared as the basis for a lecture which he delivered at the opening of an exhibition at the Museum in Jena on 26 January 1924. Some of his own work was included in this exhibition. He had already at the time been teaching for four years at the Bauhaus, and these notes are the product of his deep meditation upon the problems of art which the task of teaching had brought to a head. In my own opinion they constitute the most profound and illuminating statement of the aesthetic basis of the modern movement in art ever made by a practising artist. Other artists–Matisse, Picasso, Moore–have given brilliant explanations of their aims, subtle revelations of their methods and meaning. But Klee is unique in the logical consistency of his exposition. He was of a metaphysical cast of mind and widely read in philosophy and science, and proficient in still another art than his own–in music. All this gave him a wide range of reference and illustration.” (from the Introduction)

Publisher Bern-Bümpliz, Benteli, 1945
53 pages

English edition
With an Introduction by Herbert Read
Translated by Paul Findlay
Publisher Faber and Faber, London, 1948
56 pages

Über die moderne Kunst (German, 1945, 56 MB, no OCR, added on 2015-2-4, via DNB)
On Modern Art (English, trans. Paul Findlay, 1948, no OCR)
Modern Sanat Üzerine (Turkish, trans. Rahmi G. Öğdül, 1995/2007)