SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
The German painter, graphic artist and stage designer César Klein (1876–1954) developed a practice spanning the applied arts, interior decoration and film. According to the biographical source, his artistic career moved from an interest in Impressionism and Cézanne, then Picasso’s Cubism, to Expressionism, which he also applied to the applied arts. Born in Hamburg, he undertook an apprenticeship at the art school there in 1894, before studying at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts and then at the teaching institution of the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Berlin.
Several commissions show the breadth of his interventions in interiors: in 1913, he created the fittings for the cinema in the Marmorhaus in Berlin; in 1917, a porch mosaic and stained-glass windows for the Torbogenhaus, as well as a work using brass for the Heegermühler mill in Eberswalde. He went on to create mosaics and ceiling paintings at the Theater am Kurfürstendamm in 1922, then painted the ceiling of the Kroll Opera in 1923; both buildings were destroyed during the Second World War. In 1926, together with Rudolf Belling, he designed a wall marquetry depicting scenes from the Commedia dell’arte in the balconies of the Renaissance Theatre in Berlin. Film was another aspect of his work: in 1920, Klein designed the sets for Genuine, a film by Robert Wiene whose aesthetic is described as Expressionist.
In 1918, he founded the Novembergruppe with Max Pechstein, advocating a greater role for radical artists in decisions concerning art schools and art laws. The following year, Klein joined the board of the Deutscher Werkbund and began teaching at the teaching institute of the Museum of Arts in Berlin, where he remained until 1937. After the Nazi regime was established, he was classified as an artist of “degenerate art”. Documented works include Canal, an oil on canvas measuring 50 × 63 cm, recorded as signed and dated 1917.
This profile brings together identity references for Cesar Klein and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Genève Enchères
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.
Gouache
Nature morte aux fruits
gouache
Catalogue period : 2021-04-27
Published result : 2600 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 1000–1500
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Gouache
Nature morte au citron
gouache
Catalogue period : 2021-04-27
Published result : 2600 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 1000–1500
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Oil on canvas
Personnage expressionniste dans un intérieur architecturé
huile sur toile
Catalogue period : 2021-04-27
Published result : 4800 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 2000–3000
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Oil on canvas
Canal
huile sur toile
Date to be documented
Published result : 13000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 2000–3000
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
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