Paul Klee Essay
Paul Klee
Paul Klee was born on the 18th of December 1879, and died on the 29th of June 1940. He was considered as a talented Swiss and German painter.The artwork created by Klee had dramatically changed over his years of developing his paintings. The timeline below demonstrates the changes over his working years of creating abstract art.
In the Style of Kairouan:
‘In the Style of Kairouan’ shows Klee’s first pure abstract painting, created in 1914. Klee used a simple combination of coloured shapes to express a musical tone. He combined the use of coloured rectangles and circles, slightly overlapping the shapes to create a harmony of colour, much like the complementary layers and effects of music. He also painted some of the rectangles …show more content…
side by side to give the painting more effect. A particular colour palette he had used reminds the viewers of a musical key. Some of the colours he used were ‘complementary pairs’ enhancing 2 or more of the colours, to show the qualities, and at other times he used ‘dissonant’ colours, to show the lacking harmony created from the clashing of the colours, reflecting his connection with music.
Death of the idea:
Klee was not affected by World War 1 in the beginning, but after Klee’s two friends, August Macke and Franz Marc died in the conflict of World War 1, the effects of the horror began to take over his mind.
He expressed his feelings through paintings of war scenes, including his painting ‘Death of the idea’ in 1915. Examining the forms in the painting, there is a body lying on layers of lines and shapes at the bottom, and building up, it turns from the ground with leaves and palms into a cityscape. The lines at the bottom of the page are overlapping and dark, creating an effect of anger and death, slowly building up, less lines are used and they start to become lighter, showing the story of the war: anger and death, then …show more content…
peace.
The Golden fish:
As Klee’s paintings developed during the years, he became more known to the world. Due to his like of pets and animals, it led to another painting. ‘The Golden fish’ was painted in 1925, using watercolor and oil on paper, which was then mounted on cardboard. Klee had used light and dark colours to highlight and draw attention to the main form, a large, gold fish. The bright gold fish glows in the middle of the dark water, surrounded by darkness. The gold fish dominates in the dark sea because of its bright and exotic features, including the gold scales with runic signs covering it, the light, uncommon red fins, and the large swirled eyes. It appears to show the more weakly coloured fish are clearing a path for the large gold fish, as it was considered as royalty, and the darker and duller fish are less important and frightened. Visualising a bright gold fish, roaming in the dark, deep sea with absolute freedom, like nothing can harm it, brings significance to the painting. Klee has used lines and shapes to create the view of blue underwater plants. The blackness between the blue underwater plants describes the ‘silence and mystery’ of the deep and dark ocean, creatures of an undiscovered world that humans are unbeknown to. Ad Parnassum:
‘Ad Parnassum’ was painted in 1932, using oil and case on canvas. This was the concluding painting for his series “Magic Squares,” and was considered as Klee’s masterpiece. The features were used to illustrate the entrance to Mount Parnassus (the home of Muses and the Apollo). Klee created this painting to be similar to the mosaics he admired in Venice, Italy. Using tiny squares and rectangles, he made the figures in the painting to be a golden-yellow sun, an entrance and a tall mountain. The colors he has combined in the painting is visible to the viewers, showing the transition of the day. Also both dawn and noon are easily identified in the painting. He has used his memory of the primary picture, using the shadow of the sun. The sharp, orange, narrow triangle above the sun signifies dawn, whilst the white narrow pointed shape below the mountain and above the entrance to the temple, signifies noon.
Comedians ' Handbill:
‘Comedians’ Handbill’ was painted in 1938, to create a humour in Paul Klee’s artwork.
The painting appears to show stick figures, frolicking creatures, and allows the viewers to visualise the rhythmic beat shown in the movement of the bold lines. The handbill was designed on a sheet of newspaper, that he has precisely covered with caramel-colour gouache (a method of painting using opaque pigments ground in water and thickened with a glue-like substance) (Oxford dictionary,2013.) Between some spaces of the bold lines, he filled them with a light, bone-coloured gouache. Also, slight bits of pink and white gouache were added to create more of an effect to the
painting.
Angel Applicant:
One of Klee’s last paintings ‘Angel Applicant’ was painted in 1939, showing a twisted hybrid angel with some features of a human. Whilst painting this artwork, Klee most likely is showing feelings of hatred and expressing his knowledge of deformities caused by World War 1. He believed that heaven was a place of peace and purity, and everything on this Earth, was bound to hatred during the time of war. He was suffering from an incurable and deadly illness, believing he is hovering between life and death. Klee felt like he had a relationship to these outsiders, and felt the pain. Whilst forming the painting he precisely covered a sheet of newspaper with black gouache, and then on top of the gouache, he drew the outline of the hybrid creature and the crescent moon, using a thick, soft pencil made of graphite. He then filled the forms with a thin, light, white wash. Using the dark background, the hybrid and the crescent moon are highlighted in the artwork, giving the painting a ghostly effect.
Referencing:
(Oxford Dictionary, 2013, gouache, viewed on 14/03/13, http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/gouache, Author: Unknown)
Bibliography:
(bio.True Story, 2013, Paul Klee, viewed on the 14/03/13, http://www.biography.com/people/paul-klee-9366304, Author: Unknown)
(Ezine articles, 2013, Paul Klee - A Legendary Master of Abstraction & Color Techniques, viewed on the 15/03/13, http://ezinearticles.com/?Paul-Klee---A-Legendary-Master-of-Abstraction-and-Color-Techniques&id=1741303, Author: Annette Labedzki)
(penhook, Unknown, Paul Klee and Colour Theory, viewed on the 15/03/13, http://www.penhook.org/colortheory2.htm , Author: Unknown)
(Wikipaintings, unknown, viewed on the 15/03/13, http://www.wikipaintings.com/ , Author: Unknown)
(Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 2012, viewed on the 15/03/13, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/klee/hd_klee.htm, Author: Sabine Rewald)
(UKessays.com, 2013, Paul Klee, viewed on the 15/03/13, http://www.ukessays.com/essays/arts/paul-klee.php, Author: Unknown)
Paul Klee was born on the 18th of December 1879, and died on the 29th of June 1940. He was considered as a talented Swiss and German painter.The artwork created by Klee had dramatically changed over his years of developing his paintings. The timeline below demonstrates the changes over his working years of creating abstract art.
In the Style of Kairouan:
‘In the Style of Kairouan’ shows Klee’s first pure abstract painting, created in 1914. Klee used a simple combination of coloured shapes to express a musical tone. He combined the use of coloured rectangles and circles, slightly overlapping the shapes to create a harmony of colour, much like the complementary layers and effects of music. He also painted some of the rectangles …show more content…
side by side to give the painting more effect. A particular colour palette he had used reminds the viewers of a musical key. Some of the colours he used were ‘complementary pairs’ enhancing 2 or more of the colours, to show the qualities, and at other times he used ‘dissonant’ colours, to show the lacking harmony created from the clashing of the colours, reflecting his connection with music.
Death of the idea:
Klee was not affected by World War 1 in the beginning, but after Klee’s two friends, August Macke and Franz Marc died in the conflict of World War 1, the effects of the horror began to take over his mind.
He expressed his feelings through paintings of war scenes, including his painting ‘Death of the idea’ in 1915. Examining the forms in the painting, there is a body lying on layers of lines and shapes at the bottom, and building up, it turns from the ground with leaves and palms into a cityscape. The lines at the bottom of the page are overlapping and dark, creating an effect of anger and death, slowly building up, less lines are used and they start to become lighter, showing the story of the war: anger and death, then …show more content…
peace.
The Golden fish:
As Klee’s paintings developed during the years, he became more known to the world. Due to his like of pets and animals, it led to another painting. ‘The Golden fish’ was painted in 1925, using watercolor and oil on paper, which was then mounted on cardboard. Klee had used light and dark colours to highlight and draw attention to the main form, a large, gold fish. The bright gold fish glows in the middle of the dark water, surrounded by darkness. The gold fish dominates in the dark sea because of its bright and exotic features, including the gold scales with runic signs covering it, the light, uncommon red fins, and the large swirled eyes. It appears to show the more weakly coloured fish are clearing a path for the large gold fish, as it was considered as royalty, and the darker and duller fish are less important and frightened. Visualising a bright gold fish, roaming in the dark, deep sea with absolute freedom, like nothing can harm it, brings significance to the painting. Klee has used lines and shapes to create the view of blue underwater plants. The blackness between the blue underwater plants describes the ‘silence and mystery’ of the deep and dark ocean, creatures of an undiscovered world that humans are unbeknown to. Ad Parnassum:
‘Ad Parnassum’ was painted in 1932, using oil and case on canvas. This was the concluding painting for his series “Magic Squares,” and was considered as Klee’s masterpiece. The features were used to illustrate the entrance to Mount Parnassus (the home of Muses and the Apollo). Klee created this painting to be similar to the mosaics he admired in Venice, Italy. Using tiny squares and rectangles, he made the figures in the painting to be a golden-yellow sun, an entrance and a tall mountain. The colors he has combined in the painting is visible to the viewers, showing the transition of the day. Also both dawn and noon are easily identified in the painting. He has used his memory of the primary picture, using the shadow of the sun. The sharp, orange, narrow triangle above the sun signifies dawn, whilst the white narrow pointed shape below the mountain and above the entrance to the temple, signifies noon.
Comedians ' Handbill:
‘Comedians’ Handbill’ was painted in 1938, to create a humour in Paul Klee’s artwork.
The painting appears to show stick figures, frolicking creatures, and allows the viewers to visualise the rhythmic beat shown in the movement of the bold lines. The handbill was designed on a sheet of newspaper, that he has precisely covered with caramel-colour gouache (a method of painting using opaque pigments ground in water and thickened with a glue-like substance) (Oxford dictionary,2013.) Between some spaces of the bold lines, he filled them with a light, bone-coloured gouache. Also, slight bits of pink and white gouache were added to create more of an effect to the
painting.
Angel Applicant:
One of Klee’s last paintings ‘Angel Applicant’ was painted in 1939, showing a twisted hybrid angel with some features of a human. Whilst painting this artwork, Klee most likely is showing feelings of hatred and expressing his knowledge of deformities caused by World War 1. He believed that heaven was a place of peace and purity, and everything on this Earth, was bound to hatred during the time of war. He was suffering from an incurable and deadly illness, believing he is hovering between life and death. Klee felt like he had a relationship to these outsiders, and felt the pain. Whilst forming the painting he precisely covered a sheet of newspaper with black gouache, and then on top of the gouache, he drew the outline of the hybrid creature and the crescent moon, using a thick, soft pencil made of graphite. He then filled the forms with a thin, light, white wash. Using the dark background, the hybrid and the crescent moon are highlighted in the artwork, giving the painting a ghostly effect.
Referencing:
(Oxford Dictionary, 2013, gouache, viewed on 14/03/13, http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/gouache, Author: Unknown)
Bibliography:
(bio.True Story, 2013, Paul Klee, viewed on the 14/03/13, http://www.biography.com/people/paul-klee-9366304, Author: Unknown)
(Ezine articles, 2013, Paul Klee - A Legendary Master of Abstraction & Color Techniques, viewed on the 15/03/13, http://ezinearticles.com/?Paul-Klee---A-Legendary-Master-of-Abstraction-and-Color-Techniques&id=1741303, Author: Annette Labedzki)
(penhook, Unknown, Paul Klee and Colour Theory, viewed on the 15/03/13, http://www.penhook.org/colortheory2.htm , Author: Unknown)
(Wikipaintings, unknown, viewed on the 15/03/13, http://www.wikipaintings.com/ , Author: Unknown)
(Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 2012, viewed on the 15/03/13, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/klee/hd_klee.htm, Author: Sabine Rewald)
(UKessays.com, 2013, Paul Klee, viewed on the 15/03/13, http://www.ukessays.com/essays/arts/paul-klee.php, Author: Unknown)