“Mies y Klee”

Presentation of the translation of the book “Mies y Klee”, by Darío Costi.

The book explores the connection between Paul Klee and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, with an awareness of how their work and thought have influenced the artistic and architectural culture of modernity. Artist and architect, each within their own discipline, confront each other in a historical period in which all the arts were questioning their status, mutually influencing one another. As is well known, Mies often evoked Klee in his works through numerous collages, demonstrating a deep connection that transcended mere collector’s interest.

The comparative study between Klee and Mies explores the resonances between the two as authentic interpreters of their time — relentless, as Benjamin said — with a perspective on modernity that includes historical depth, critical judgment, and spiritual dimension. Mies’s works are analyzed as a composition of elements within a poetic whole where architecture, in dialogue with art, liberates the wall from mere construction and elevates it to the role of conceptual plane.

The research carried out in this book, based on the analysis of personal letters and documented with previously unpublished materials from the Klee Zentrum archive, presents for the first time all 26 paintings that Mies owned, arranged according to their acquisition, and offers constant cross-references between the architectural works and the artistic practice. The text proposes a reading of Mies’s work that goes beyond established historical-critical interpretations, suggesting an integration of meanings. With contributions by Giovanni Leoni and Renato Capozzi.