Steamer at Lugano (Dampfer vor Lugano)

Steamer at Lugano (Dampfer vor Lugano) is a significant print created by Paul Klee in 1922. This work is executed as a lithograph, a medium Klee frequently utilized during his Bauhaus tenure to disseminate his geometric and conceptual studies. The lithographic process allowed Klee to emphasize linear precision and the interaction of distinct tonal planes, characteristics central to his output during this German cultural period.

The print transforms the visible subject of a steamer boat navigating Lake Lugano into a highly rhythmic and reduced arrangement of shapes. Klee, who was teaching at the Bauhaus in Weimar when he produced this work, distilled the landscape and the moving vessel into a series of interlocking, overlapping planes. This approach demonstrates the profound influence of analytical Cubism, filtered through Klee’s own unique vocabulary of line, color, and symbol.

The period of 1922 marked Klee’s transition toward systematic organization, where pictorial space was often defined by vertical and horizontal divisions, giving the impression of structural density. Though the composition of Steamer at Lugano appears fragmented, the underlying framework of the vessel and the horizon line remains poetically legible through Klee’s distinctive visual shorthand. The composition captures the dynamism of the lake environment through geometric simplification, reflecting Klee’s belief that art should make the unseen visible.

As one of the master prints from Klee’s fertile post-war production, this graphic work remains a critical reference point for understanding the development of modernist abstraction. This historic German print is highly sought after by collectors and scholars interested in art from 1922 and the development of graphic arts within the Bauhaus curriculum. It is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, underscoring its importance in the history of twentieth-century printmaking.