1 Lost Paradise - Armin Kerber

There are two versions of Angelus novus. The original and first incarnation of the work is the carefully
executed pencil drawing on paper. Paul Klee employed the “oil transfer process”, which he had devised himself,
to transfer its outlines, creating Angelus novus, the “oil transfer drawing and watercolour on paper and
cardboard”, according to the entry in his oeuvre catalogue. It is this watercolour drawing that has achieved
great fame as the “Angel of History”.
Klee‘s oil transfer process emerged in early 1913 from his drawings. It allowed him to create “oil
drawings”, to which he would subsequently add watercolours. The method was the following: Klee applied
black oil paint to a sheet of paper before placing it face down on top of a fresh sheet. Having placed the original
drawing on top, he used a stylus to re-draw the countours that he wished to transfer. The tracing showed
the desired effect: delicate, occasionally blurry lines and smudges of black oil paint, caused by friction and the
pressure of the hand. Leaving the original drawing intact, Klee could now elaborate the tracing, adding colour
or other media. In fact, the method allowed him to use the original several times over for different colour versions.
From 1919 to 1925, he produced more than 240 works employing this technique.
Klee had negotiated an agreement with Galerie Goltz in Munich, his exclusive dealer since 1919,
to sell his “oil transfer drawings” at more than twice the price of a drawing. His production of oil transfer
drawings increased significantly from 1920 onwards, dropping again after 1925. That was the year in which
gallery owner Hans Goltz, owing to the depressed market, had to ask Klee to lower his price, which prompted
Klee to cancel his contract.