Kirchner in Davos: Seclusion and intense artistic exchange
Shortly after the end of World War I, E. L. Kirchner and his partner Erna Schilling moved to the secluded Swiss Alps near Davos. Despite his new home's rural location, Kirchner remained well-informed about political and cultural events in Germany and Switzerland. Reading art magazines and books, as well as maintaining intensive correspondence with his many acquaintances and patrons, kept him well informed about the dates and locations of upcoming exhibitions; he had the latest publications sent to him and followed the artistic work of fellow German artists with great interest.

Kirchner had already expressed extremely positive views on Paul Klee’s works in several letters as early as the 1920s, later going so far as to describe them as “fine art” (in a letter to Grete Ring, no. 2758, December 5, 1932).

Leaving Germany
Kirchner and Klee shared a common fate in the 1930s amid the upheavals and defamation brought about by Nazi art policies. While Kirchner emigrated to Switzerland as early as the 1920s, observing the political events in Germany from afar, Paul Klee did not decide to turn his back on Germany until the mid-1930s. In 1933, shortly after Hitler seized power, the Klee family’s master house on the Bauhaus campus in Dessau was raided. In April, Klee was initially placed on leave, and in late autumn, he was dismissed from his teaching position without further notice. At Lily Klee’s urging, the couple moved to Switzerland as early as January 1934. Thenceforth, they lived together in Klee’s hometown of Bern. In a letter to his art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Klee wrote: “I really like it in Bern. […] Right now it feels like a fairy tale, a big bang—starting over from scratch”. (Letter dated Jan. 10, 1934, quoted from: ibid.) Kirchner learned of Klee’s relocation to Bern at an early point. He reported to his partner Erna Schilling: “Klee lives here for good now, very modestly in an attic apartment, has to start over again. Lost his teaching post in Düsseldorf. Yes, it’s bad to paint modern art. We’ve failed to meet twice. But maybe I’ll get to see him yet.” (Letter 2976, May 27, 1934)

Kirchner meets Klee
Kirchner greatly admired Klee's art and wanted to meet him in person after Klee moved to Switzerland. It appears that he attempted to visit Lily and Paul Klee in Bern in May 1934; Kirchner wrote: “Dear Mr. Klee, I was very sorry that I did not see you; perhaps I will try to find you again on Kollerstrasse tomorrow. I certainly do not wish to disturb you by seeing you. I have known and admired you and your work for so long, especially today, we must all stand together—those of us who fight for art, for it is in greater danger than ever. […]” (Letter 2977, May 27, 1934) The meeting evidently took place at that time, as Kirchner reported to his friend, the art collector Carl Hagemann, shortly afterward: “[…] I’ve probably already written to you that I met Klee. A nice person.” (Letter 2987, June 15, 1934)
In the months that followed, Kirchner and Klee remained in occasional contact. However, there is no record of another meeting. In May, Kirchner invited the Klees to visit his exhibition at the Kupferstichkabinett in the Kunstmuseum Basel; in January, he sent a friendly New Year’s greeting to Klee and invited the couple to Davos: “Dear Mr. Klee, I have just heard with regret that you were ill. I wish you a speedy recovery and all the best that you and your wife could wish for. If you need the altitude, visit us in Davos; there is beautiful air and sunshine here. With warm regards and a handshake to you and your dear wife / Yours, E. L. Kirchner” (Letter 3164, Jan. 2, 1936)

Hommage à Klee
The painting was most likely created following Kirchner’s aforementioned visit to the Klees in Bern in the spring of 1934. Kirchner may have made two preliminary drawings during his visit. In the first draft in ink, the artist still holds his cat on his arm, and Klee is in the center of attention. In the final pencil sketch, the cheeky cat, perched on an armchair in the background, looks directly at the viewer. Yet, Klee is and remains the undisputed central figure at the heart of the scene and the absolute and spiritual center of the painting.
Like a spotlight on a theater stage, specific areas of the private scene are highlighted:
Klee himself, his violin, one of his works, and the bright window in the background; the left side of the face of his wife Lily, who appears to be looking at him with admiration; and the white, statuesque cat. Kirchner used precisely these elements of the painting to reveal a little more about Paul Klee’s artistic personality and also shed light on the painter’s private side. The violin, for example, which Paul Klee holds in both hands, symbolizes his great love of music.

Both artists were also great cat lovers. In Davos, Kirchner initially took care of a stray black cat named Bobby; later, the cat Schacky became his faithful companion.
Paul Klee was also known to be a great cat lover. In the 1920s, the Klee family had a cat named Fripouille. Later, they took over the beloved snow-white Angora cat Bimbo, immortalized in this painting, from their housekeeper, Karla Grosch. After his visit in 1934, E. L. Kirchner wrote to his partner Erna: “The Klees have a completely white Angora cat, a crossbreed, who is just as spoiled as Schacky, who, by comparison, looks like a country bumpkin. Klee treats him very affectionately and carries him around constantly. They live a very simple life, since they don’t have much.” (May 31, 1934, letter 2978)

A unique artist portrait
There are very few artist portraits in Kirchner’s oeuvre.
In earlier years, Kirchner painted, among others, his “Brücke” colleagues Erich Heckel and Otto Mueller; later, he portrayed figures such as Oskar Schlemmer and Jean Arp. From time to time, other creatives also appear in his works, including art dealers and art historians, a few musicians, avant-garde dancers, and writers.
Although the artistic principles of Paul Klee and E. L. Kirchner differ significantly, the artists hold each other and their paintings in high regard—after all, both remain of outstanding importance for German and European art, as key figures and representatives of an independent avant-garde style. However, due to the drastic increase in political tension in Germany, the enforced conformity of the cultural landscape, and the ongoing defamation and censorship of modern artists, they may also have felt a deeper connection. Kirchner, in particular, seems to have seen an ally in Klee at that time. Set against a period of grave and devastating consequences for German art, “Hommage à Klee” unites two central pioneers of Modernism and is therefore regarded, with its compositionally appealing qualities, as one of E. L. Kirchner’s major works from his Davos creative period. [CH]