Die Hexe mit dem Kamm (Witch with a Comb) is a compelling lithograph created by Paul Klee in 1922. This striking graphic work exemplifies the artist's intense engagement with fantastic and mythological subjects during the early 1920s, a crucial period in European modernism. Executed as a fine art print, the medium of lithography allowed Klee to utilize sharp lines, simplified forms, and stark contrasts, characteristics that define the unsettling, yet whimsical, figure of the witch at the center of the composition.
Produced within the period spanning 1901 to 1925, this piece reflects Klee’s ongoing exploration of subconscious imagery, simplified aesthetics, and primitive artistic forms. Although Swiss by culture and upbringing, Klee was deeply entrenched in the German art scene, having begun his influential teaching tenure at the Weimar Bauhaus shortly before the creation of this work. Klee frequently utilized reduction and a stylized, almost childlike, approach to imbue his subject matter with psychological depth. Here, the titular witch, rendered with schematic clarity, is captured mid-action, perhaps engaged in a ritualistic act of grooming or conjuring with the comb. The visual style bridges the gap between Expressionism's intensity and the structural discipline emerging from the Bauhaus movement.
As a significant example within Klee’s prolific catalog of graphic works, Die Hexe mit dem Kamm holds importance for scholars studying 20th-century prints and the development of Modernist iconography. The surviving edition provides a clear record of Klee’s technical experimentation in graphic mediums, demonstrating his mastery of the lithographic process. This singular impression is held in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art, forming an important element in the museum's holdings of early 20th-century European art. While the original physical print is safeguarded in the museum collection, many reproductions of Klee’s celebrated works are now frequently referenced or available through public domain sources, ensuring the global accessibility of this significant visual statement.
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