Hermann Hesse depicts in this autobiographically grounded novella the last summer in the life of the famous painter Klingsor, whose immense zest for life and ecstatic creative frenzy seeks to transform everything. In ten expressive episodes, he tells of Klingsor's race against death, which he attempts to outpace with ever newer and bolder images. A duel of such dynamism and authenticity cannot be portrayed without having experienced it oneself in the skin of its protagonist. Therefore, the volume also includes watercolors by Hesse that were created during the time of writing the novella.