Cesar Klein. Image Space Stage

Cesar Klein (1876–1954) was a pioneering modern artist whose remarkable versatility enabled him to transcend the boundaries between fine and applied art. His oeuvre encompassed not only painting and graphic art, but also interior design and the creation of mosaics, stained-glass windows, furniture, and porcelain. As a stage and film designer, he also played a significant role in shaping Berlin’s cultural life during the Weimar Republic.Cesar Klein is undoubtedly among the leading figures of Berlin Modernism, both in the fields of fine and applied arts. Yet, despite his importance, Berlin has never devoted a monographic exhibition to his work. The 150th anniversary of the artist’s birth provides the occasion to celebrate his remarkable career with a major exhibition in the city. As a visual artist, Klein was actively involved in the leading avant-garde movements before and between the two World Wars. In 1910, he was among the first members of the Neue Secession, along with Expressionist artists such as Max Pechstein. In 1919, he declined an invitation to join the newly established Bauhaus. Instead, he accepted the position of head of the Decorative Painting class at the Berlin teaching institute of the Museum of Decorative Arts (Kunstgewerbemuseum), where he expanded his connections within the art and theatre worlds. During the 1920s, he became one of Germany’s most sought-after stage and interior designers, making a lasting contribution to both Expressionist theatre and the visual language of German Art Deco.Under the National Socialist regime, Klein lost his professorship, was banned from painting, and was denounced as a “degenerate” artist. Numerous works were removed from public collections. Stage design remained the only field in which he was permitted to continue working. Following the Second World War, he returned to painting with renewed intensity, producing an impressive late body of work.