The Sublime Side Paul Klee Buy Art Prints Now
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Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on October 14, 2023
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Paul Klee's The Sublime Side was completed in 1923. This famous painting has been used in other forms of art in modern times.

It has even appeared on several published postcards because it appeals to people who enjoy Abstract work. Klee had a lot of experience as a print maker and sometimes produced his work using techniques that he had become accustomed to using in that genre.

The Sublime Side was created as a lithograph and features lots of colours. Klee shows his skill with making an interesting composition using geometric shapes and sticks to his goal of finding hidden meaning. Through the use of Abstraction, he creates an eloquent picture. It invites the viewer to study it carefully in order to search out its hidden depths.

Lofty ideas are presented in this piece in the only way Klee liked. He never thought of Realism as being a complete way of exploring an idea. This was his preference as an artist. It is true that to some extent, he was able to focus more on exploring certain ideas without the distraction of the expected look of an object.

Klee and many other Expressionists used the bright colours found in paintings like The Sublime Side to provoke an emotional reaction. The main colours found in this work of art are yellow and red. Through the use of bright colours, perhaps the artist hopes to encourage a high level of energy in those who look at the piece.

The artist has a tendency to use shapes within shapes to make his point. In The Sublime Side, he used circles and triangles to create a structure on several different levels. Those who are familiar with him as an architect will recognise the type of planning used in this work. In a way, it has elements similar to is 1923 painting, Architecture of The Plain.

The top of the structure looks like a cathedral, while the lower half of the composition looks like a Modernist structure with more rigid lines. While Klee uses bright colours for the subject of his piece, the entire background is grey. This dos not detract from the work. In fact, his use of such a shade makes the entire subject stand out even more.