Work -

I picked this painting, Senecio (1922, oil canvas), as it was said to be one of Paul Klee’s most well-known paintings, and I wanted to understand more about why that's so. I was also drawn into what appeared to be a face, painted on a nearly symmetrical circle.

On the face is an eclectic blend of shapes with similarly toned colors of red, orange, yellow, pink and white. The eyes on the shaped like interwoven leaves, with a peculiar tilt and red dark red circles as pupils. The curved black line extending from the middle of the eyes looked like either a relaxed or raised eyebrow. The nostrils are depicted by two, rectangular shapes.

Below the head is what looks like a neck and the upper shoulders of the body, with colored shapes. The background is more homogeneously colored, with a red-orange background.

The intensity of the painting is contributed by the bright colors, yet at the same time, that intensity is toned down, or maybe even intensified by the object’s lack of a true facial expression. Colors from different parts of the painting intermingle, as if the artist trying to emphasize the value of creative freedom over orderliness.