In 1918, Klee evoked the following image in his diary: "The storm on the wheat field was captivating; I'll paint a ship sailing on waves of rye." Klee never painted that picture, but this one seems just as miraculous. A boat of the type of Noah's Ark—the "112"—is moored to a boathouse. The face of the girl in the left window is expressionless; her eyes are closed. Perhaps this "miraculous landing" exists only in her imagination.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
Inscription: Signed (lower right): Klee; dated and inscribed on cardboard (lower left): 1920/179 Wunderbare Landung, oder "112!"
the artist, Munich (1920–21; gift in March 1921 to Hausenstein); Wilhelm Hausenstein, Munich (1921–at least 1948); [Philip Granville Modern Paintings, London, until 1956]; Baron Joseph Berchtold Urvater, Brussels (by 1957–61; sold in 1961 to Beyeler); [Galerie Beyeler, Basel, 1961–63; sold in 1963 to Berggruen]; Heinz Berggruen, Paris and Berlin (1963–84; his gift to MMA)
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. "Paul Klee," February 8–March 25, 1957, no. 29 (as "Wonderbare Landing," lent by J. B. Urvater, Brussels).
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels. "Paul Klee," March 29–May 12, 1957, no. 29 (as "Débarquement merveilleux," lent by J. B. Urvater, Brussels).
Otterlo. Kröller-Müller Museum. "De Grote Belgische Verzameligen. Verzamelig Urvater," June 29–September 2, 1957, no. 59.
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Liège. "Les Grandes Collections Belges. Collection Urvater," October 5–November 11, 1957, no. 59.
Leicester Museum and Art Gallery. "Paintings from the Urvater Collection," September 13–October 4, 1958, no. 43.
City of York Art Gallery. "Paintings from the Urvater Collection," October 11–November 1, 1958, no. 43.
London. Tate Gallery. "Paintings from the Urvater Collection," November 12–December 14,1958, no. 43.
Belgrade. Art Pavilion. "Nadrealisti i apstraktni. Zbirka Urvater," April 7–21, 1959.
Zagreb. Moderna Galerija, Zagreb. "Nadrealisti i apstraktni. Zbirka Urvater," April 29–May 14, 1959.
Paris. Berggruen et Cie. "Paul Klee. Les années 20," May–July 1971, no. 2.
Saint-Paul. Fondation Maeght. "Paul Klee," July 9–September 30, 1977, no. 30 (lent by a private collection, Paris).
London. Hayward Gallery. "Dada and Surrealism Reviewed," January 11–March 27, 1978, no. 8.17 (as "Accostage miraculeux ou '112'. Miraculous meeting or '112'," lent by a private collection).
Cologne. Kunsthalle. "Paul Klee. Das Werk der Jahre 1919–1933. Gemälde, Handzeichnungen, Druckgraphik," April 11–June 4, 1979, no. 31 (lent by a private collection, Paris).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Selection Two: Twentieth-Century Art," June 4–September 2, 1985, no catalogue.
Canberra. Australian National Gallery. "20th Century Masters from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," March 1–April 27, 1986, unnumbered cat. (p. 45).
Brisbane. Queensland Art Gallery. "20th Century Masters from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," May 7–July 1, 1986, unnumbered cat.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Paul Klee: The Berggruen Klee Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 6–July 31, 1988, unnumbered cat. (p. 118).
Kunsthalle Tübingen. "Paul Klee: Die Sammlung Berggruen im Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York und im Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris," January 22–April 16, 1989, unnumbered cat. (p. 123).
London. Tate Gallery. "Paul Klee: The Berggruen Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris," May 17–August 13, 1989, unnumbered cat. (p. 123).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Paul Klee: Of Men and Women," opened March 27, 1990, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Humor of Klee," May 14 or 15–October 4, 1992, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Klee and Friends," June 8–November 26, 1995.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Klee in Munich," January 12–July 21, 1996, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Klee Landscapes," November 20, 1997–February 8, 1998, no catalogue.
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Sammlung Berggruen. "Klee aus New York: Hauptwerke der Sammlung Berggruen im Metropolitan Museum of Art," June 4–October 18, 1998, no. 8.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Klee the Voyager," February 4–May 4, 2003, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Klee Landscapes," November 1, 2005–March 5, 2006, no catalogue.
Rome. Fondazione Memmo. "Paul Klee: La collezione Berggruen," October 11, 2006–January 7, 2007, no. 15.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art [The Met Breuer]. "Humor and Fantasy: The Berggruen Paul Klee Collection," September 1, 2016–January 2, 2017, no catalogue.
Ottawa. National Gallery of Canada. "Paul Klee: The Berggruen Collection from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 16, 2018–March 17, 2019, no catalogue.
J. L. "The Urvater Collection." Studio 156 (December 1958), ill. p. 176.
Max Huggler inKünstler Lexikon der Schweiz XX. Jahrhundert. Ed. Eduard Plüss. Vol. 1, A–Le Corbusier. Frauenfeld, 1961, p. 524.
Walter Ueberwasser. "Chiffrierte Weltgedanken bei Paul Klee." Die Kunst und das Schöne Heim 61 (August 1963), p. 551, fig. 1 (color).
Walter Ueberwasser. Klee. Exh. cat., Galerie Beyeler. Basel, 1963, p. 73, no. 15, ill. p. 17 (color).
Felix Klee. Paul Klee: 12 aquarelles. Paris, 1964, unpaginated, colorpl. 5.
Jean-Louis Ferrier. Paul Klee: Les années 20. Paris, 1971, ill. p. 95 and n. p. (color and bw).
Sara Lynn Henry. "Paul Klee, Nature, and Modern Science, the 1920s." PhD diss., University of California, Berkeley, 1976, p. 106.
Daniel Abadie. Paul Klee. [Paris], 1977, p. 169, ill. p. 49, as in a private collection, Paris.
Kay Vernon in20th Century Masters from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Exh. cat., Australian National Gallery. Canberra, 1986, p. 41, ill. p. 45 (color).
Sabine Rewald. Paul Klee: The Berggruen Klee Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1988, pp. 118–19, 276, 317, ill. (color and bw).
Josef Helfenstein and Christian Rümelin, ed. Paul Klee: Catalogue Raisonné. Ed. Paul Klee Foundation, Museum of Fine Arts, Berne. Vol. 3, 1919–1922. New York, 1999, pp. 236, 241, no. 2524, ill., as "Wunderbare Landung, oder '112!' (Miraculous Landing, or '112!')".
Paul Klee (German (born Switzerland), Münchenbuchsee 1879–1940 Muralto-Locarno)
1921
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
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.
The Met's engagement with art from 1890 to today includes the acquisition and exhibition of works in a range of media, spanning movements in modernism to contemporary practices from across the globe.
