Description
Architecture is a painting by Paul Klee from 1923: rows of soft-edged rectangles in greys, violets, olive greens and near-black blues fill the upright surface, a few bright yellow squares light up among them, and at the top two towers with triangular roofs rise from the grid, a yellow one on the left and a white one on the right. The original is oil on cardboard, 58 x 39 cm, and it belongs to the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. Our painter paints it for you by hand on canvas, in oil or acrylic, in 8 upright sizes from 30 x 45 to 100 x 145 cm or made to measure. Before we pack your Architecture, we send you a photograph of the finished painting to approve.
| Title: | Architecture |
| Other titles: | Architektur (German title) · Architettura (Italian title) |
| Painter: | Paul Klee (1879–1940) |
| Year painted: | 1923 |
| Original size: | 58 cm x 39 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on cardboard |
| Painting style: | Modernism |
| Located at: | Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted in oil or acrylic on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Architecture – Paul Klee
What does Architecture show?
A grid of rectangles and squares, laid in horizontal rows like bricks or windows, covers the whole surface. Their edges are soft and slightly blurred, and the rows never line up perfectly, so the grid looks less like a table than a wall laid by hand.
The colours are muted: greys, pale and deep violets, olive green and an almost black blue. A few lemon-yellow squares glow, some blocks are nearly white, and two deep wine-red fields sit near the middle; a narrow dark band along the top reads as sky above the roofs.
At the top two towers grow out of the grid: a taller one on the left with a steep yellow roof, and a smaller one on the right with a white roof over a pale yellow block. With them, the whole grid turns into a town built of colour squares.
What does a magic square have to do with this painting?
Architecture belongs to Klee’s magic squares series, in which he studied, in a largely abstract style, what happens when the same elements return again and again. The town is only hinted at; the real subject is the rhythm of the planes.
A magic square is an old number puzzle: every row and every column of the grid adds up to the same total. The art critic and historian Will Grohmann found among Klee’s papers a slip with a plan for one of his works, numbers written in its squares; added across and down, the totals were equal.
The sources do not say whether this particular work followed such a plan. It has also been suggested that works of this period were influenced by the twelve-tone technique, the radical new musical system of the Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg.
Why does this grid of colour hold the eye?
Klee painted it in 1923 while teaching at the Bauhaus, a school where architecture carried great weight, and the two towers rising from the abstract grid fit the view that this emphasis shaped the work.
The work brings together three things that occupied Klee: building, music and numbers. He played the violin from childhood, in an orchestra too, and Rilke felt his drawings read like transcriptions of music. In rows of blocks all of a size yet never alike, you can almost hear a beat.
A short Wikipedia article on the work, written in English, sums up the magic squares series and Grohmann’s discovery of the numbered slip of paper.
Where is the original, and what size is it?
The original is in the collection of the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. It is oil on cardboard and measures 58 x 39 cm (height x width), a fairly intimate format.
Klee liked modest supports such as paper, gauze or cardboard, so many of his works are small. Born in 1879 near Bern, he taught at the Bauhaus from January 1921 to April 1931.
In 1937 seventeen of his pictures hung in the Nazi exhibition of so-called degenerate art, and 102 of his works were seized from public collections. Klee died in 1940.
Architecture or another Klee?
Architecture is a canvas painting for anyone who likes order and quiet colour: the grid feels composed, and the yellow blocks give it warmth. Its upright format suits a narrow wall between two windows, a stairwell or the space above a desk.
If the house as a motif appeals, see Rotating House; if you enjoy forms that repeat and change, try Variations (Progressive Motif).
If a garden tempts you more than a town, consider Oriental Pleasure Garden, or, for a title about the edges of thought, Limits of Reason.
Architecture sits among the famous Paul Klee paintings we paint to order on our Paul Klee page.
How do we hand-paint Architecture on canvas?
The original by Klee is a small oil on cardboard. Ours is an oil painting reproduction on canvas, in oil or acrylic and the size you choose, so it hangs on its stretcher like any painted work, not like a sheet behind glass.
First he divides the canvas into rows and rectangles with fine lines and sketches the two towers. Then he lays in one block after another, keeping the greys, violets and olives calm so the yellow squares can shine.
Klee did not rule the edges of his blocks; they are soft and full of brush marks. Our painter therefore paints them freehand and builds the painting up layer by layer, keeping the slightly uneven surface of the original.
Which size suits which wall?
In short: 30 x 45 or 35 x 50 cm for a shelf or a hallway, 40 x 60 and 48 x 70 cm above a desk or a bedside table, 60 x 92 and 69 x 100 cm above a chest of drawers or a bed, and 88 x 131 or 100 x 145 cm above a sofa or on a large empty wall.
We paint Architecture in 8 upright sizes (width x height): 30 x 45, 35 x 50, 40 x 60, 48 x 70, 60 x 92, 69 x 100, 88 x 131 and 100 x 145 cm. The original measures 39 x 58 cm (width x height), so from 48 x 70 cm upwards our sizes enlarge it; our largest size, 100 x 145 cm, is about two and a half times as wide as the cardboard in Berlin.
As a painting for the living room it works best at 88 x 131 or 100 x 145 cm, where each square is roughly hand-sized and the colours read from across the room.
Can I order another size and a frame?
Yes. If you need different proportions, we adapt the grid so that both towers stay whole and widen or shorten only the blocks along the edge. Send us the size you want for Architecture and we will reply with a price and a date.
Your Architecture can travel rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or already framed; our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and framing. The moulding is chosen in our 3D app, which exists for frame choice alone; a view of the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
A slim black or graphite frame picks up the dark band along the top, while pale natural wood makes the yellows brighter.
When will your painting arrive?
Once you confirm the order, the painter starts, and your Architecture is ready to ship within 15 to 45 working days. Before it is packed, a photograph of the finished painting comes to you, and any change you ask for is made.
Within Slovenia and to the other EU countries your parcel travels without customs duties, and every order is covered by our returns policy.
A town of colour squares makes a fine present for an architect, a new home or a friend who loves music and numbers. Unsure of their wall? Give them a wall art voucher so they can pick the size.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original Architecture?
In Berlin, in the collection of the Neue Nationalgalerie.
What can I see on the canvas?
A grid of grey, violet, olive green and dark rectangles with a few yellow squares and two towers with triangular roofs.
Will I receive a print?
No. Our painter makes a hand-painted copy with brushes, in oil or acrylic on real canvas.
What are the dimensions of the original?
58 x 39 cm (height x width); our largest size is 100 x 145 cm (width x height).
May I order a size that is not on the list?
Yes. Give us the width and height, and we will send an offer with a price and a delivery date.
How long does it take, and how is it delivered?
15 to 45 working days; it comes rolled, stretched or framed, and you see a photograph first.
Does it suit an office or a living area?
Yes: the quiet tones and orderly squares suit an office, a living room or a hallway.
What is a magic square?
A grid of numbers in which every row and every column adds up to the same total; Grohmann found such a plan among Klee’s papers.
- Subject: a grid of soft rectangles in grey, violet, olive and dark blue with yellow squares and two towers.
- Original: oil on cardboard, 1923, 58 x 39 cm, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin.
- Ours: a Paul Klee reproduction painted by hand in oil or acrylic on canvas, 8 sizes from 30 x 45 to 100 x 145 cm, or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: the work belongs to Klee’s magic squares series and dates from his years teaching at the Bauhaus.
