Likeness in the bower 1930

Paul Klee made this little painting, Likeness in the bower, with watercolour and ink, just before the second world war. It’s the kind of image that feels both carefully planned and totally spontaneous. The surface is alive with these delicate, almost floating marks, dots of light and colour hovering between the figure and the background. It makes you wonder about the process of applying the watercolour, was it layered gradually, or applied in one go? It’s like Klee is inviting us to consider the very act of painting itself. Look at the contrast between the dark areas of the background and the bright dabs of color. The figure is built from simple outlines and blocks of color, and in a way it reminds me of Miro, another artist who wasn’t afraid to embrace playfulness and experimentation. Like Miro, Klee understood that art is not just about representation, it’s about creating new ways of seeing and feeling the world.