A Guardian Angel Serves a Small Breakfast (Ein Genius serviert ein kleines Frühstück) for the yearbook Die Freude: Blätter einer neuen Gesinnung (Joy: Papers for a New Consciousness)

A Guardian Angel Serves a Small Breakfast (Ein Genius serviert ein kleines Frühstück) for the yearbook Die Freude: Blätter einer neuen Gesinnung (Joy: Papers for a New Consciousness) is a significant 1920 lithograph created by Paul Klee. This remarkable print was specifically commissioned for a prominent German publication dedicated to new consciousness and post-war artistic introspection, reflecting Klee’s active engagement with the intellectual circles of the period. Executed through the graphic medium of lithography, the piece showcases Klee’s developing abstract style combined with his characteristic, whimsical figuration, a hallmark of his interwar period output.

In this composition, Klee interprets the traditional religious figure of the guardian angel, or Genius, through a modern and somewhat absurd lens. The angel is depicted carrying a modest tray bearing a small breakfast, suggesting an intentional merging of the celestial and the mundane. The resulting narrative is gentle and intimate. The visual language utilizes simplified geometric forms and delicate, fine lines, demonstrating the economy of line typical of Klee’s approach to drawing and printmaking. Although created at a time when Klee had begun teaching at the influential Bauhaus school, the composition’s sensitivity and almost childlike narrative quality resonate strongly with early surrealist interests emerging across European art during this era. Klee often relied on readily reproducible prints, such as this 1920 lithograph, to explore complex narratives with visual brevity and sophisticated line work.

Dating from a pivotal year in his career, this key example of German prints demonstrates Klee’s foundational contributions to Modern art theory and his mastery of graphic media. The lithograph remains important not only for its artistic execution but also for its historical placement within the culture of the Weimar Republic. This compelling work resides in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where its delicate technique and subtle narrative continue to inform scholarly understanding of Klee’s vast and varied body of work.