Attributed to Paul Klee, no coa, private collection, medium: oil, measurements: 17"HX23"W framed, good condition Biography: Paul Klee was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. After receiving his Fine Arts degree, Klee traveled in Italy from October 1901 to May 1902 with friend Hermann Haller. They visited Rome, Florence, Naples and the Amalfi Coast, studying the master painters of past centuries.He exclaimed, "The Forum and the Vatican have spoken to me. Humanism wants to suffocate me."He responded to the colors of Italy, but sadly noted, "that a long struggle lies in store for me in this field of color."For Klee, color represented the optimism and nobility in art, and a hope for relief from the pessimistic nature he expressed in his black-and-white grotesques and satires.Returning to Bern, he lived with his parents for several years, and took occasional art classes. By 1905, he was developing some experimental techniques, including drawing with a needle on a blackened pane of glass, resulting in fifty-seven works including his Portrait of My Father (1906). In the years 1903–05 he also completed a cycle of eleven zinc-plate etchings called Inventions, his first exhibited works, in which he illustrated several grotesque characters. He commented, "though I'm fairly satisfied with my etchings I can't go on like this. I'm not a specialist." Klee was still dividing his time with music, playing the violin in an orchestra and writing concert and theater reviews.