The Work: Contemplating

I specifically chose Klee's Contemplating (1938) because it expressed many of the qualities found throughout Klee's later work: pastel colors with defined edges and recognizable features hidden within bold strokes. The faces and shapes found throughout this work are, personally, oddly comforting. I found this work particularly interesting because, unlike most of Klee's work, large blocks of color or scenes into the abstract were not the foreground, now replaced by a wireframe. This work, within two years of his death, took the form of much of his later works -- unhappy faces contorted or hidden amongst bold strokes of pale or darkened colors.