Painting: Fish Magic, Paul Klee

One of my favorite paintings is Paul Klee’s “Fish Magic.” Why? What do I see in this odd surreal jumble of fish? Standing in front of this small painting in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, I have seen people pass it by with either a quick glance or even a scuff. Some stare, most don’t. Yet it is one of the most rich expressionist painting ever painted. And the term “expressionist” is the key to understanding this painting as well as Klee. “Fish Magic,” is essentially an “expression of Klee’s view of nature. What the viewer sees here is not realism, but the artist’s view of realism. It is realism filtered and magnified through Klee’s brilliant interpretation of color. It is Klee’s view of nature. And what a fantastic view he had. Colors all bright and swirling with odd fish swimming in a deep blue surrealist environment. A clock with only a few numbers hangs in the middle. An odd piece of muslin stuck on the painting. A strange creature with his heart in his mouth and seaweed hands stands at the bottom of the picture, odd but cute in a way. Disturbing, but attractive. What is this little man doing in a pond of oddly shaped and brightly colored fish? Another figure wearing what seems to be a dunce cap peeks out from the left side of the painting. What does this picture mean? In “Fish Magic,” the aquatic, celestial and earthly intermingle. Klee is taking us somewhere else. somewhere not on this earth, but to a place that can only be imagined. He had a fabulously imaginative mind and his view of life and nature is infectious. His oeuvre contains over 9100 works and his style and range surpass Picasso's. Klee’s work is rich and sophisticated. The basis of Klee’s work is graphic and the expression of his art rests on line, movement and change. The key to understanding his work is to remember it’s representational of his imagination. Let Klee carry you into his world. Follow Klee’s imagination and see where it takes you. He was a colorist at heart and revels in color, all kinds of fantastic color. Klee’s Universe is a system of images and you can become accustomed to those images and by doing so enter into his fantastic world. Beware though; Klee’s work turns dark towards the end of his life as he became influenced by the horrors of WWII and illness. Recommended book: “The Klee Universe,” by Kristine Hopfengart. “Fish Magic,” is part of the Walter Arensberg Collection, located at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gallery 168, Modern and Contemporary Art, first floor.