Perseu
1904
Paul Klee's 1904 etching 'Perseus' offers a grotesque and humorous take on the Greek hero. Instead of a noble warrior, we see a wide-eyed, bearded man with a slightly bewildered expression, staring out at the viewer. Floating beside him is the severed head of Medusa, looking more like a strange, deflated balloon than a terrifying monster, complete with a snake dangling from the back. The German text at the bottom notes that 'wit has triumphed over suffering,' hinting at Klee's playful subversion of classical mythology long before he became a Bauhaus master.
- Technique
- etching
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