ticketsMember | Make a donation

Hammamet with Its Mosque

Paul Klee German, born Switzerland
1914
Not on view
Klee's artistic training, which began in 1898, when he went to Munich for three years to learn to draw and paint, can be said to have lasted until 1914, when he visited Tunisia. The light of North Africa aroused in him a sense of color, and there Klee made his now-famous statement: "Color and I are one. I am a painter."

On April 14, 1914, Klee visited Hammamet, a small town on the Mediterranean, northwest of Tunis. He captured a view of the city in Hammamet with Its Mosque, a watercolor painted from outside the city walls. As happens so often in Klee's works, the picture consists of representational as well as nonrepresentational elements. The upper part shows the mosque surrounded by two towers and gardens; the lower area is made up of translucent color planes, following Robert Delaunay's (1885–1941) example of making pure color and its contrasts the sole subject of a picture.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Hammamet with Its Mosque
  • Artist: Paul Klee (German (born Switzerland), Münchenbuchsee 1879–1940 Muralto-Locarno)
  • Date: 1914
  • Medium: Watercolor and graphite on paper mounted on cardboard
  • Dimensions: 9 3/8 × 8 3/4 in. (23.8 × 22.2 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: The Berggruen Klee Collection, 1984
  • Object Number: 1984.315.4
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Ass (Esel), Paul Klee German, born Switzerland, Lithograph
Ass (Esel)
Paul Klee
1925
Bird Comedy (Vogelkomödie), Paul Klee German, born Switzerland, Lithograph
Bird Comedy (Vogelkomödie)
Paul Klee
Franz Seraph Hanfstaengl
1918
The Bauhaus Portfolio: New European Graphics III
Paul Klee
1921
The Saint of the Inner Light (Die Helige vom inner Licht), Paul Klee German, born Switzerland, Lithograph with brown background
The Saint of the Inner Light (Die Helige vom inner Licht)
Paul Klee
1921
Hoffmannesque Scene (Hofmanneske Szene), Paul Klee German, born Switzerland, Lithograph in gold, maroon, brown and black
Hoffmannesque Scene (Hofmanneske Szene)
Paul Klee
1921

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.