Paul Klee
Paul Klee painted this cat in October 1905. He wrote the following to his wife Lily on the 4th October of that year:
“Something new is that today I drew on glass with a pen, which produces very broad strokes and has its own character. Then I apply the colour and shape of a few blobs and finally – the opposite of when I do it on paper – the white or grey background. I have painted a three-coloured tomcat in his funny position, which seems somewhat grotesque and is now rather reminiscent of the traditional pottery of Langnau.”
As described by Klee, in this reverse glass painting he first drew with a pen on a glass plate. Then he painted the colored areas, so in particular the large colored spots of the cat. Next he underlaid these spots of color, the entire body of the cat and the lower part of the picture with white, and the upper background with a light grey. This picture is one of Klee’s very first reverse glass paintings.
As Klee himself remarked, the cat is in a funny position that even seems grotesque. At the same time, this position results in an exciting composition. The body of the cat licking itself forms a triangle. The legs—especially the upstretched one—lie diagonally in the image field. The cat’s head is in the center.
The result is a composition with the cat’s head in the center and the body parts, such as the legs and tail, leading diagonally away from it. The image of a cat licking itself also nicely encapsulates an idyllic, domestic scene of well-being.
We present today's painting thanks to Zentrum Paul Klee. :)
P.S. Here you can dive into Paul Klee’s autumn atmosphere and its warm palette.