C. - C. = Fisch

Paul Klee

1931

Watercolor and ink on gessoed paper, mounted on board

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A stylized fish is depicted with abstract geometric shapes and hatching lines. A small red circle represents its eye. A stylized fish is depicted with abstract geometric shapes and hatching lines. A small red circle represents its eye. With the title C. - C. = Fisch, Paul Klee emphasizes the creative process at the heart of his drawing. According to the equation, Klee subtracted one letter C from another to form the fish's body, with the extended intersection of the two mirrored Cs defining the tail fin. The fish's eye and lateral fin can be discerned among a tangle of expressive, freely-drawn lines that also suggest a sense of motion, as if the fish is swimming forward. Throughout the compostion, Klee emphasizes the basic geometric elements of sha