Place-Signs (Ort-Zeichen)
SEE IT IN PERSON
● On view now — Collection Gallery, Room 17, South Wall
Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia · verified July 2026
Discussion
FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG
Klee traveled to the Mediterranean every summer beginning in 1924, and he became fascinated with excavation sites in the region. Place Signs probably represents one such site in mainland Italy or the island of Sicily. Like an archaeologist, Klee brings objects to the surface—including ladders, a building, and a bowl—placing them against a patchwork of grass, water, and trees that evokes an archaeologist's grid. The eyes, spade, and cross act as more symbolic excavations, referring to the ways in which meaning and understanding emerge through this visual site.
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More by Paul Klee
Sicilian Landscape (Sicilische Landschaft)
After a Sketch from Zurich (Nach einer Scizze aus Zürich)
God of War
Bad Band (Schlechte Musik Kapelle)
Village Among Rocks (Ort in Felsen)
The Last Mercenary (Der letzte Landsknecht)
This Bloom is About to Wither (Diese Blüte Will Verwelken)
Two Red Flowers (Zwei rote Blüten)
