Never Ending (Nicht endend) from the deluxe edition of the book Paul Klee by Will Grohmann

Never Ending (Nicht endend) from the deluxe edition of the book Paul Klee by Will Grohmann, created by Paul Klee in 1930, is a pivotal example of the artist's highly intellectualized graphic work. Classified technically as a print, specifically an etching, this piece showcases Klee’s subtle mastery of delicate, complex line work and abstraction, demonstrating his ability to maintain conceptual depth even within the constraints of graphic reproductive media. This artwork served as an original, hand-pulled impression included exclusively within the deluxe copies of Will Grohmann’s essential monograph on the artist, which was formally published in 1933.

Executed just before Klee’s exile from Germany due to the rise of the Nazi regime, the work embodies the formal explorations that characterized his output around 1930. Klee, renowned for his theoretical investigations into movement, form, and structure while teaching at the Bauhaus, utilizes the etching process to create a dense composition defined by repeating, yet subtly evolving, linear and geometric elements. The German title, Nicht endend, reflects the core abstract concept of the design, suggesting continuous motion or infinite pattern, a notion central to Klee’s belief that art should capture underlying forces of growth and time rather than focusing on static representation.

The importance of this particular print lies both in its aesthetic merit and its direct connection to the earliest definitive scholarship on the artist’s career. Klee’s dedication to the graphic arts ensured that high-quality, original prints like Never Ending were accessible to a wider audience than his paintings. This specific impression is proudly held in the renowned collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), affirming its status as a canonical work of early 20th-century modernism. As a critical piece created during this highly productive and fraught phase of Klee's development, it serves as an important reference point for the history of German abstraction, and the work’s widespread influence ensures that images of these prints are frequently available via public domain resources.