The Firmament Above the Temple 1922

Paul Klee made "The Firmament Above the Temple" and though we don't know exactly when, we can tell it's built with layers of watercolour. The colors are these deep, almost mossy greens and earthy oranges, like he’s building up a world from scratch. I love how Klee uses the watery paint to create these slightly blurred, almost dreamlike geometries. The texture of the paper peeks through, reminding you that this grand, evocative image is also just paint on paper. Look at how the blocks of color aren't perfectly aligned, and how the edges softly bleed into each other. It's in these details that you see Klee's hand, his process. Klee feels like he's in conversation with artists like Kandinsky, but with a playful, more grounded approach. He reminds us that art is not about perfect representation, but about opening up a space for feeling and thinking. A space that is open to interpretation.