Angelus novus di paul klee biography

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Angelus Novus, the Paul Klee painting barely known during his life, became Klee’s most famous painting, mostly because of the exceptional story of its connection to German-Jewish philosopher and critic Walter Benjamin.

Benjamin purchased Angelus Novus in 1921, frequently referring to the work as his most treasured possession. The angel was to make appearances in Benjamin’s writing until his death in 1940.     

Paul Klee, Angelus Novus, and Walter Benjamin Meet

Paul Klee was a young artist when he created Angelus Novus, an angel made with Klee’s self-developed oil transfer technique and watercolour on paper in 1920, not long after the end of World War One.

During the war, Klee had been conscripted into the German forces, but he spent much of his service away from the front,