Revolution of the Viaduct, 1937 by Paul Klee

Klee revealed a more socially and politically relevant side in his 1937 painting Revolution of the Viaduct. Created when Fascism was on the rise in Europe, the image of rebellious arches escaping from the conformity of a viaduct invokes public dissension while promoting individuality. It is a flippant but foreboding reference to Albert Speer's monolithic Nazi architecture as well as to official Soviet imagery of workers marching forward in unison. There is a poignant postscript to Klee's social critique: after the artist fled Germany in 1937 to his native Switzerland, 17 of his works were displayed in the Nazis' Degenerate Art exhibition, a show of Modern painting and sculpture that they considered too free-spirited and libertarian.