Paul Klee is a Swiss painter who has been associated with the expressionist, cubist, futurist and surrealist movements, due to his unique and interpretive form of painting. He has also utilised a range of media including oil paint, watercolour and pastels, drawing on his knowledge of graphic art to develop a mastery of colour and tonality.
 

Paul Klee stated “Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible” (Pioch, 2012).

What do you think this quote means?

Klee often made references to dreams, music and poetry in his paintings, attempting to utilise symbols to allude to this sub-conscious and emotive world. Klee also uses characteristically evocative titles which express and add another dimension to his paintings, often drawing together the symbolism to enable the viewer to understand his intent (Paul Klee Paintings, 2012).

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

​

Dream City (1921) is a watercolour painting, which depicts an eerie city scene through the primary use of colour and geometric shapes. Watercolours provide a transparent quality, which helps create fluidity and dreaminess to the painting. Tints and shades of green have been used to create an illusion of depth throughout the painting, by emphasising certain areas depicting shapes such as a moon and building. Furthermore, contrast between the lightest and darkest shades adds variety to the painting and once again provides a feeling of depth, similar to how 3-D glasses work using red and blue colours. The slight changes in value also provided a fluidity to the painting to evoke the dreamlike essence, which contrasts with the harsh, geometric shapes. The dull colours however, make the dream seem scary and painful rather than traditional happy dreams (Paul Klee Paintings, 2012).

​

Geometric shapes have been used to represent city shapes and add structure to the work. They have been repeated to form a pattern, which in turn creates depth to the city. This pattern enables the painting to be balanced, with symmetry also being created through the use of similar shapes on each side of the artwork. Overall these elements assist the painting to conjure up images of wandering through a dark and sleeping city, with ghostly buildings.

​

​

​

​

















 

​
Have a Go!​

1. Sketch and block out a building or city scene. Think about your composure. Do you want a point of emphasis? Will your balance be symmetrical or asymmetrical?

2. Divide the scene into shapes. You may like to use geometric shapes or experiment with curved or angular shapes instead.

3. Paint your city using watercolours. You may only use one colour and you must change the tints and shades of that colour to create depth. Which colour will best match your city and the mood you wish to convey? Think about which parts of the painting you want to emphasise or bring forward. This will be painted using a light colour.

4. Reflect on your artwork. What do you like about your artwork? What changes could be made to improve it?