Der Sauerbaum 1939

Paul Klee made Der Sauerbaum with watercolor, probably in the 1930s. The lines here are, like, outlines, right? They give us shapes, but they're also loose, like doodles, and that kind of thing lets the painting breathe. Klee's colors are so translucent. They’re not trying to hide the paper, and that means he’s letting us see the painting as a process, not just a picture. I notice a lot of small circular marks inside the shapes – maybe they’re polka dots, or maybe they’re supposed to be the dots on a blackberry? The edges of all the forms are so rounded and playful, and they contrast with the sharp black lines that slice across the composition. It's like a conversation between hard and soft, control and accident. Klee reminds me a bit of Miró, in the sense that they’re both reaching for a childlike sense of play, but Klee is a bit more buttoned-up and reserved. It’s as if he’s trying to build a world out of simple shapes, and inviting us to come along for the ride.