Little Castle in the Air (Luftschlösschen)

The ethereal work, Little Castle in the Air (Luftschlösschen), was created by Paul Klee in 1915. This intricate piece, classified as a print, utilizes the demanding technique of etching on paper, demonstrating Klee's early mastery of graphic media before his full immersion into the Bauhaus movement.

The year 1915 places the work squarely within the early stages of World War I, a period characterized by global instability and anxiety. Although Swiss by birth, Klee was deeply integrated into the German Expressionist and avant-garde communities, and his artistic output during this time often reflects a profound interior struggle and a search for transcendent or purely imaginative order amid the chaos.

Klee’s choice of the title, translating literally as “Air Castle” or “Daydream,” speaks directly to the themes of fragility and escapism that pervaded his creative life during the conflict. The composition presents an architectural form that defies physical laws; the structure appears weightless, suspended by a few fine, almost invisible lines. This imaginary edifice, achieved through the precise lines typical of the etching process, functions less as a representation of a physical place and more as a psychological landscape—an unstable, poetic refuge.

Klee consistently employed graphic media, particularly prints and small-scale works, to explore complex symbolic language. The work's delicate execution and use of negative space enhance the feeling of insubstantiality, underscoring the ephemeral nature of the Luftschlösschen. These early prints are crucial to understanding the evolution of Klee's unique approach to abstraction. This important work is part of the Museum of Modern Art collection. As an artwork created in 1915, Little Castle in the Air is often considered a key foundation in Klee's subsequent career, and high-quality prints of this early masterwork are frequently accessible through public domain art institutions.