Great Hall for Singers 1930

Paul Klee made this watercolor and ink drawing called "Great Hall for Singers," and it feels like a blueprint for a stage set, doesn't it? I bet he was thinking about music and architecture merging into one. I can see him there, mapping it out – these delicate, almost architectural lines framing washes of translucent color. The paint is thin, like he's barely touching the surface, allowing the light to shine through. There's this one section, a series of stacked, pastel-colored blocks, like a minimalist staircase to nowhere. It makes me wonder, was Klee thinking about the rise and fall of musical notes, turning sound into something you can almost climb? Klee was always experimenting with ways of seeing. It reminds me of Kandinsky, another painter who tried to capture music in color and form. These guys were onto something, trying to make painting sing.