New book explores the relationship between Paul Klee and Mies van der Rohe

Architect Dario Costi has published a book titled "Mies e Klee. L'arte moderna di costruire tra le cose e l'attesa dell'apparizione" that examines the connection between architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and artist Paul Klee. The volume includes all the Klee paintings purchased by Mies, which he often used in presentations of his projects. The subtitle, "The modern art of building between things and the expectation of appearance," takes on a centrality that goes beyond the two figures. The book explores their relationship starting from their meeting in Weimar in 1923, when Klee was 44 and about to play a central role at the Bauhaus, and Mies was 37, having worked in Peter Behrens's studio where he met Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius. Costi's text proposes a reading of Mies's architecture that goes beyond traditional critical interpretations, emphasizing the poetic dimension. The book includes contributions from Giovanni Leoni and Renato Capozzi. The review was written by Mario Pisani, who discusses the relevance of Walter Benjamin's description of Klee's "Angelus Novus" (1920 watercolor, now at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem) and the theological ideas of Romano Guardini. Pisani questions whether Costi's backward-looking analysis also looks to the future.