Description
Botanical Theater is a painting by Paul Klee from 1934: on a dark, warm stage of rose, brown and moss green, closed at the sides by tall posts and stems, grow invented plants drawn in the finest lines and hatching, like an old engraving. The original, in oil, watercolour, pen and ink, measures 50 x 67 cm and belongs to the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus in Munich. We paint it for you by hand, in oil or acrylic on canvas, in any of 8 landscape sizes between 40 x 30 and 200 x 148 cm, or made to measure. Before it leaves us, we send you a photograph of the finished work.
| Title: | Botanical Theater |
| Other titles: | Botanisches Theater (German title) · Teatro botanico (Italian title) |
| Painter: | Paul Klee (1879–1940) |
| Year painted: | 1934 |
| Original size: | 50 cm x 67 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil, watercolour, pen and ink |
| Painting style: | Modernism |
| Located at: | Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted in oil or acrylic on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Botanical Theater – Paul Klee
What does Botanical Theater show?
The centre is taken up by a dark rose field that reads as a stage or a deep box. Tall posts, rods and stems in brown, ochre and moss green rise on the left and right, and a row of horizontal beams closes the scene at the top.
On this stage grow plants you will not find in any herbarium. At the upper left a pale, star-shaped flower opens, and below it hangs a large pink bowl shaped like a basket. On the right, spiky stems that recall cacti rise up, and between them are scattered little cups, small bowls, clusters of tiny berries and diamond-shaped leaves.
In the centre floats an oval bowl full of small yellowish blossoms, with a red, drop-shaped leaf hanging below it. At the left edge stands a white, egg-like oval bearing Klee’s small signature, and at the lower left a spiral curls like a snail shell.
What does the title Botanical Theater tell us?
The title joins two worlds that rarely meet: botany, the science of plants, and the theatre. The plants stand on a stage, tall stems frame them at the sides like wings.
The sources we use give no specific reading of this work, so we do not invent one. The English Wikipedia article on the painter says that after his 1914 trip to Tunisia faithfulness to nature became less important to Klee, so these plants are inventions rather than real species.
Nature never stopped interesting him, though. In 1923 he published a short text, Ways of Studying Nature, in the catalogue of the first Bauhaus exhibition.
Why is this painting best enjoyed up close?
The work does not give everything away at first glance. You notice the dark, warm stage first, then the separate plants, and only after a while the small things: red veins on the basket-like bowl, yellow stamens in the central vessel, the snail spiral and tiny leaflets along the lower edge.
The fine lines are no accident. As a young artist, between 1903 and 1905, Klee made a cycle of eleven zinc-plate etchings called Inventions, his first works to be exhibited.
For more on the painter, a Swiss-born German artist who belonged to the Blaue Reiter circle and taught at the Bauhaus, see the Wikipedia article on Paul Klee; it is in English and covers the painter, not this particular work.
Where is the original, and when was it made?
The original belongs to the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus in Munich, where it is listed as G 15632 and AK 24. It measures 50 x 67 cm (height x width), a medium-sized work for Klee, who often chose small formats. Our data does not record what it is painted on.
It dates from 1934, the first year after Klee left Germany. At the end of 1933 he moved with his family to Switzerland, to Bern, the city where he had grown up.
From the Bern years also comes the late Oh! These Rumors! of 1939, in which thick, dark lines draw strange creatures leaning towards each other as if trading gossip.
Botanical Theater or another Klee?
Botanical Theater is a canvas painting for anyone who loves detail and warm, dark tones. It suits a library, a home office or a hallway, where it is seen from close by.
If you prefer light, translucent colour, look at Town with the Three Domes from 1914, where houses and roofs glow like stained glass. From the same year comes On a Motif from Hammamet, with broad, loosely brushed patches of violet and blue. For a witty accent there is Seventeen, Insane from 1923, with its top hat, its loose eyes and the number 17.
The famous Paul Klee paintings on our shelf all wait for you on the Paul Klee page.
How do we hand-paint Botanical Theater on canvas?
Klee’s original is in mixed media: oil, watercolour, pen and ink. Ours is an oil painting reproduction on canvas, worked by the painter in oil or acrylic in the size you choose.
First he sets out the framework of the scene: the stage, the side posts, the beams above and the outlines of the plants. Then he lays on rose, brown and green in thin, glazed layers, so the stage gains depth and warmth.
The hardest part is the drawing. With the finest brushes the painter pulls thousands of thin lines and hatchings, and finally adds the light accents: the star flower, the white oval, the yellow blossoms in the central bowl and the red leaf.
Which size suits which wall?
In short: 40 x 30 or 53 x 38 cm for a shelf, a bedside table or a narrow wall, 65 x 50 and 87 x 62 cm above a chest of drawers or a desk, 98 x 70 and 120 x 90 cm above a sofa or a bed, and 160 x 115 or 200 x 148 cm for a large wall where the stage should take full effect.
We paint Botanical Theater in 8 landscape sizes (width x height): 40 x 30, 53 x 38, 65 x 50, 87 x 62, 98 x 70, 120 x 90, 160 x 115 and 200 x 148 cm. The original measures 67 x 50 cm (width x height), so the smallest sizes are smaller than it, while the largest take it to almost three times its width.
As a painting for the living room it looks best at 98 x 70 or 120 x 90 cm above the sofa, where you can also study it up close. Its dark, warm tones want a light wall or good lighting.
Can I order a custom size, and which frame suits it?
Yes. If your wall calls for different proportions, we adapt the painting so that the stage, the posts and every plant stay whole; only the width of the dark border changes. Write to us with the size you have in mind, and we quote a price and a delivery date by return.
We ship it rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed, and our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and framing and protects each painting carefully for the journey. You pick the moulding in our 3D app, which serves only for choosing the frame; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
When will your Botanical Theater arrive?
After you confirm the order the painter starts work, and within 15 to 45 working days the painting is ready to ship. When it is finished we send you a photograph; if you would like a change, we make it before packing.
No customs duties apply within Slovenia or for other countries of the European Union, and every order is covered by our returns policy.
Botanical Theater makes a lovely present for a gardener, a plant lover or anyone who enjoys discovering details. If you are unsure which size would suit their wall, give them a wall art voucher and leave the choice to them.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original?
In Munich, at the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, under G 15632 and AK 24.
What stands on the stage?
Invented plants: a star-shaped flower, cactus-like stems, cups, small bowls, a snail spiral and an oval bowl of tiny blossoms.
Will I receive a print?
No. You receive a hand-painted copy, brushed onto canvas line by line by our painter in oil or acrylic.
How big is the original?
It measures 50 x 67 cm (height x width); our sizes run from 40 x 30 to 200 x 148 cm.
Can I order a size that is not listed?
Yes. Give us the width and height, and an offer with price and delivery date follows.
How long will I wait?
Between 15 and 45 working days, and you see a photograph of the finished canvas before we ship it.
Is it suitable for a bedroom, or as a gift?
Yes. The warm, dark tones feel calm in a bedroom, and as a present it delights anyone who loves plants and gardens.
What does the title mean?
It brings plants and stage together: invented plants stand like actors in a scene; our sources give no specific reading.
- Subject: invented plants on a dark rose stage between tall posts and stems, drawn in the finest lines.
- Original: oil, watercolour, pen and ink, 1934, 50 x 67 cm, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich.
- Ours: a Paul Klee reproduction painted by hand in oil or acrylic on canvas, 8 sizes from 40 x 30 to 200 x 148 cm, or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: it was made in 1934, the first year after Klee moved from Germany to Switzerland.
