Description
Barbarian Sacrifice is a painting by Paul Klee from 1932: thousands of tiny dots in close rows, rose, grey, blue and ochre, cover the whole sheet, and beneath three rounded arches that look like domes stand masks and vessels – a grinning round head, a drop-shaped face with narrow eyes, a dark post and a small round face with an eye like a crescent moon. The original is a watercolour on paper, 62.9 x 48 cm, and it belongs to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Our painter paints it by hand on canvas, in oil or acrylic, in 4 upright sizes from 77 x 100 to 156 x 200 cm or made to measure. Before it ships, we send you a photograph of the finished work.
| Title: | Barbarian Sacrifice |
| Other titles: | Barbaren-Opfer (German title) · Barbarska žrtev (Slovene title) |
| Painter: | Paul Klee (1879–1940) |
| Year painted: | 1932 |
| Original size: | 62.9 cm x 48 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Watercolour on paper |
| Painting style: | Modernism |
| Located at: | Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted in oil or acrylic on canvas, 4 sizes or made to measure |
Barbarian Sacrifice – Paul Klee
What does Barbarian Sacrifice show?
The dots are what you notice first. Klee filled the entire sheet with them, from the top edge to the bottom, and strung them in close horizontal rows, like embroidery or a mosaic of minute pebbles. Near the top the rows change in bands: dark grey, rosy red, greyish, and across the middle runs a single band of soft blue dots.
Below the bands rises a large shape, outlined in a thin reddish brown line. Its upper edge is made of three rounded arches, like three domes or the tops of three windows. Inside this shape Klee placed figures that recall masks and vessels.
On the left floats a round grey head with a wide grin and short upright strokes for teeth; one eye is a black dot, the other a small white plate. On the right hangs a drop-shaped face with narrow, half-closed eyes. Between them stands a dark post with a red shape on top, and low in the centre a little face looks out of a pink circle with a black crescent eye.
At the very bottom lie two broad shapes that suggest boats or bowls; the one on the right is grey and decorated with white diamonds. Klee signed the sheet at the lower right.
What does the title Barbarian Sacrifice mean?
The title is Klee’s own, yet the painting shows no violence at all. Nothing points to a ritual or an offering being made: the sheet holds only masks, faces and vessels under three arches.
What Klee meant by these words is not recorded, so we do not invent an explanation.
Why does this dotted painting hold the eye?
Barbarian Sacrifice belongs to Klee’s dotted works of 1931 and 1932, a group that also includes his large painting Ad Parnassum.
The dots give the sheet an even pulse, almost a musical rhythm. Klee had played the violin since boyhood, orchestra included, and Rilke once wrote that his drawings seemed like music transcribed.
The Wikipedia article on Paul Klee, in English, is about the painter rather than this work; there is no separate article on this painting.
Where is the original, and how did it come about?
The original belongs to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, where it is listed under inventory number 69.1893. It is a watercolour on paper measuring 62.9 x 48 cm (height x width).
Klee painted it in 1932, during his Düsseldorf years, when he taught at the city’s art academy from 1931 to 1933. Before that he had taught at the Bauhaus from 1921 to 1931, alongside Wassily Kandinsky.
The same New York museum holds two more works from our shelf: In Angel’s Care of 1931, an angel drawn with a thin coloured line, and Rocks at Night of 1939, a landscape of stones in deep blue.
Barbarian Sacrifice or another Klee?
Barbarian Sacrifice is a canvas painting for people who like to linger in front of a surface: from across the room they see masks and arches, up close rows of dots in warm and cool tones.
If Klee’s late, darker hand draws you in, look at Archangel of 1938, a face made of thick black arcs on a soft coloured ground. For a witty subject there is Nearly Hit, a head in a hat with an arrow whizzing just over it.
If you want the dotted technique on an even larger scale, look for Ad Parnassum; all the famous Paul Klee paintings we paint to order are gathered on our Paul Klee page.
How do we hand-paint Barbarian Sacrifice on canvas?
To be plain about it: Klee’s original is not an oil painting but a watercolour on paper. Ours is an oil painting reproduction on canvas, which the painter carries out in oil or acrylic, layer by layer, in the size you pick.
He begins with the outlines: the three arches, the masks, the post and the vessels, each of which must sit exactly where it sits in the original. Then he lays thin areas of grey, pink and ochre beneath them.
Next comes the longest part: with the tip of the brush he sets dot beside dot, row after row, taking care that the bands of colour stay even. There are several thousand dots, so this is work for a patient hand.
Which size should you choose for your wall?
In short: 77 x 100 cm above a chest of drawers or a bed, 95 x 128 cm above a sofa, 124 x 157 cm for a large empty wall, and 156 x 200 cm for a tall wall by a staircase or in a spacious living area.
We paint Barbarian Sacrifice in 4 upright sizes (width x height): 77 x 100, 95 x 128, 124 x 157 and 156 x 200 cm. We deliberately offer nothing smaller: on a small surface the close rows of dots would blur into a muddy grey, and the masks would lose their faces.
The original sheet is 48 cm wide and 62.9 cm tall, so even our smallest size enlarges the work by more than half, and at 156 x 200 cm it is over three times as wide.
As a painting for the living room it works best where you see it from afar and can also step up close.
Can I order another size or a frame?
Yes. If your wall needs other proportions, we adapt the composition so that the arches, masks and vessels stay whole, and widen or narrow only the dotted ground. At this density we advise keeping the shorter side at 77 cm or more. Tell us the size you need, and we reply with a price and a date for your Barbarian Sacrifice.
You can have it rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or already framed.Our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and framing and packs every painting with care for the journey. You choose the moulding in our 3D app, which is for picking the frame only; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
A slim frame in warm wood or a plain dark profile suits the pink and grey tones.
When will the painting arrive, and how is it sent?
The painter starts once you confirm the order; the painting is ready to ship within 15 to 45 working days. Before packing you receive a photograph of the finished work, and if you would like anything changed, we change it.
No customs duties apply to parcels within Slovenia or to any other EU country, and our returns policy covers every order.
It makes a fine present for anyone who loves modern art, masks or music. If you do not know the recipient’s wall, give them a wall art voucher and let them choose the size.
Frequently asked questions
Which museum has the original?
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, under inventory number 69.1893.
What is painted on it?
Thousands of tiny dots in rows, three rounded arches, and masks and vessels, among them a grinning round head.
Is it a print?
No, it is a hand-painted copy: our painter sets every dot and every line with a brush, in oil or acrylic.
How large is the original?
It measures 62.9 x 48 cm (height x width); our sizes run from 77 x 100 to 156 x 200 cm.
Why is there no size below 77 x 100 cm?
Because the dense dots need room; on a smaller surface they would run together and the masks would turn vague.
How long does it take to make?
Between 15 and 45 working days; a photograph of your finished painting reaches you before it ships.
Is it a good choice for a bedroom or as a gift?
Yes. The calm pink and grey tones sit well in a bedroom, and as a present it pleases anyone who likes modern art.
Does the title mean the painting shows violence?
No. The title is Klee’s, but there is no violent scene on the sheet, only masks, faces and vessels.
- Subject: thousands of dots in rows, three rounded arches, masks and vessels, among them a grinning round head.
- Original: watercolour on paper, 1932, 62.9 x 48 cm, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
- Ours: a Paul Klee reproduction painted by hand in oil or acrylic on canvas, 4 upright sizes from 77 x 100 to 156 x 200 cm, or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: the dense dots need room, so the smallest size is 77 x 100 cm; the work is one of Klee’s dotted pieces from his Düsseldorf years.
