Paul Klee – Nearly Hit

Nearly Hit is a painting by Paul Klee from 1928: a head drawn in thin black lines, with a hat, two round greenish eyes and a triangular bow tie, stands on a thin stick in the middle of a brushed field of coral red, pink and pale blue, while a grey arrow shoots past just above the hat. The original is a small oil on cardboard, 50.8 x 39.4 cm, and belongs to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. We have it hand-painted on canvas in oil or acrylic, in one of 8 upright sizes between 30 x 40 and 156 x 200 cm or to your own measurements, and you see a photograph of your finished painting before it is packed.

Nearly Hit – Paul Klee

What does Nearly Hit show?

In the middle of the upright format stands a small figure that is almost nothing but a head. Klee drew it with a few thin black lines: a face rounded at the bottom like a goblet, an angular nose that drops to the chin in two bends, and three short brown strokes on the cheek. The eyes are two pale greenish circles with upright pupils, ringed with shadow, so the gaze looks startled.

A brimmed hat sits on the head, suggested by only a few horizontal brown and violet strokes that run past the edge of the face on the right. Below the chin hangs a bow tie of two triangles, one violet and one pink, and from it a thin reddish-brown stick runs down: the only body the figure has.

The background is laid in dense, feathery brushstrokes of coral red, pink, white, pale blue and greyish lilac, radiating from the head. A narrow red painted border frames the whole, and Klee signed at the lower left.

What does the title Nearly Hit mean?

The key is the grey arrow above the hat. It is broad, with a blunt tail and a sharp point, and it flies from left to right, only a little above the head. The title says what we see: the little man was nearly hit, and the arrow missed him by a hair.

What Klee meant beyond that, we do not know. The painting does not tell us who fired, or why. The wide-open eyes allow both: perhaps he has just felt the draught over his head, perhaps he is staring straight ahead and suspects nothing. Some see a small joke about a lucky escape; no reading is the only right one.

Why is this little man so well loved?

English Wikipedia says that Klee’s works reflect his dry humour and his sometimes childlike perspective. This painting is a fine example: out of a few lines, one triangle and one arrow comes a whole story that makes you smile. The contrast between strict line and restless, almost flame-like colour keeps drawing the eye back.

Klee, born in 1879 in Münchenbuchsee near Bern, played the violin from childhood, and Rilke felt that his drawings often read like music written down.

To read more about the painter, see the Wikipedia article on Paul Klee; it is in English and covers the artist, not this painting.

Where can the original be seen, and how large is it?

The original belongs to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) in California, under accession number 44.2640. It measures 50.8 x 39.4 cm (height x width) and is painted in oil on cardboard, a modest support of the kind Klee often chose.

It dates from 1928, when Klee was teaching at the Bauhaus, where he worked from January 1921 to April 1931 alongside Wassily Kandinsky.

Also from the Bauhaus years is Inscription of 1926, a warm brown sheet covered with tiny signs that recall an unknown script.

Nearly Hit or another Klee?

This is a canvas painting for people who like a quiet joke on the wall, beside a door or over a desk.

If you prefer pure geometry, look at Two Ways, where arrows appear as well, but among grey rectangles that open towards the light. If you are after a bigger, calmer face, there is Archangel of 1938, with thick black signs on a soft coloured ground, and for a wall full of dots there is Barbarian Sacrifice, covered in thousands of tiny points.

More famous Paul Klee paintings, all painted to order by our painters, are gathered on our Paul Klee page.

How do we hand-paint Nearly Hit on canvas?

Klee’s original is a small oil on cardboard, about 51 cm tall. Ours is an oil painting reproduction on canvas: the painter works in oil or acrylic, in the size you choose, and stretches it on a stretcher bar, so it hangs like any other painting.

First he lays a ground of coral red and pink, then builds up the background layer by layer with quick, feathery strokes until the colour shimmers around the head. Only when everything is dry does he draw the black lines of the face, the hat and the bow tie with a fine brush.

Last come the greenish eyes, the grey arrow and the red border. The arrow must stay just above the hat, because the whole joke lives in that gap; so the painter places it exactly where it sits in the original.

Which size suits which wall?

In short: 30 x 40 or 36 x 48 cm for a desk, a shelf or a narrow hallway, 48 x 60 and 60 x 81 cm above a chest of drawers or a bed, 77 x 100 and 97 x 127 cm above a sofa, and 124 x 157 or 156 x 200 cm for a tall wall or a stairwell.

We paint it in 8 upright sizes (width x height): 30 x 40, 36 x 48, 48 x 60, 60 x 81, 77 x 100, 97 x 127, 124 x 157 and 156 x 200 cm. The original measures 39.4 x 50.8 cm (width x height): the two smallest sizes are a little smaller, all the others enlarge it, at 156 x 200 cm almost four times.

As a painting for the living room it looks best at 77 x 100 or 97 x 127 cm, where the warm red livens up the room and the figure stays large enough to catch your eye from the sofa.

Can I have another size or a frame?

Of course. If you need different proportions, we keep the figure and its arrow whole and unchanged and adjust only the brushed ground and the red border. For your preferred size we quote a price and a date.

Your painting travels rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or ready framed. Our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and framing and packs every piece with care. The frame is chosen in our 3D app, whose only job is the choice of moulding; a view of the painting on your own wall is a separate service.

When will my painting be ready?

Once you confirm, the painter starts work, and within 15 to 45 working days the painting is ready to ship. Before that we send you a photograph of the finished work; if you would like a change, we make it.

Within Slovenia and the rest of the EU there are no customs duties, and every order is covered by our returns policy.

The little man with the arrow over his hat is a witty present for someone who has just had a lucky escape, for a graduation or a new job. Not sure which wall it will hang on? A wall art voucher lets them choose.

Frequently asked questions

Where does the original hang?

At the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in the United States, accession number 44.2640.

What is painted on it?

A head with a hat, round eyes and a bow tie on a thin stick, with a grey arrow above that only just misses it.

Is this a print?

No, it is a hand-painted copy: our painter makes it with a brush on canvas, in oil or acrylic.

What are the dimensions of the original?

It measures 50.8 x 39.4 cm (height x width); our sizes run from 30 x 40 to 156 x 200 cm.

Could you paint Nearly Hit in a size you do not list?

Yes. Tell us the width and height, and we will send you an offer with a price and a delivery date.

How long will I wait?

Making it takes 15 to 45 working days, and before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished work.

Is the little man right for a bedroom, or as a gift?

Yes. The witty motif makes a cheerful present, and its warm, calm tones also suit a bedroom or a home office.

What does the arrow above the hat mean?

It explains the title: the arrow nearly hit the man; what else Klee meant is left open.

• Subject: a head with a hat, greenish eyes and a triangular bow tie on a thin stick, with a grey arrow above.
• Original: oil on cardboard, 1928, 50.8 x 39.4 cm, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
• Ours: a Paul Klee reproduction hand-painted in oil or acrylic on canvas, 8 sizes from 30 x 40 to 156 x 200 cm, or made to measure.
• Worth knowing: Klee painted it during his Bauhaus years; his dry humour here sits in a single arrow.