Oriental Garden 1939

Paul Klee's "Oriental Garden" is a watercolour and ink drawing, made sometime during his career. The colors are really what get me here - Klee's use of lilacs, blues and earthy browns laid out in what looks like a mosaic. The way the colours bleed into each other gives the work a dreamlike, ethereal quality, which is heightened by the simple forms. The surface of the paper seems to absorb the paint, leaving a slightly rough texture that plays with the light. See that tiny circle near the top? It's so small, but it acts like a sun, casting a soft light over the whole scene. It’s like Klee’s inviting us to wander through a garden that exists more in the mind than in reality. This reminds me a bit of some of the gridded compositions of Agnes Martin. Though her work is more abstract, there’s a similar feeling of quiet contemplation. Klee, like Martin, reminds us that art doesn't always have to shout to be heard. Sometimes the quietest voices resonate the deepest.