Collection Publications: Klinger to Kollwitz Labels6

This watercolor is from a body of work Klee began in 1930 using a method he referred to as "Divisionism." Influenced by late-nineteenth-century pointillism, these pictures were built up with rows of dots arranged in clearly defined blocks of color. The contrast between the grid of dots and the ground gives the image a luminous quality. Light over Former Times was probably inspired by Klee's trip to Egypt in the winter of 1928-29. The importance of light, as well as the history of Egyptian civilization, is suggested by the title Klee gave this watercolor. The composition may be interpreted as a pyramid or a mountain surrounded by a cultivated landscape that extends infinitely into space.

Klee completed several divisionist paintings when he taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Diisseldorf , following the expiration of his teaching contract at the Bauhaus in 1931. In April of 1933, the Nazis forbade him to teach, and he spent the rest of his life in Switzerland.