Who painted Colors from a Distance?

Colors from a Distance was painted by Paul Klee in 1932.

Where can I see Colors from a Distance?

Colors from a Distance is held by Israel Museum.

What movement is Colors from a Distance?

Colors from a Distance is associated with Art Informel.

Can I buy a print of Colors from a Distance?

Museum-quality prints of Colors from a Distance are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Colors from a Distance

Paul Klee , 1932

Colors from a Distance is an oil painting by the Art Informel artist Paul Klee. It dates from 1932 and is held in the collection of the Israel Museum.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1932, "Colors from a Distance" is an oil painting by Paul Klee, a Swiss‑born artist who worked primarily in Germany. The work belongs to the abstract vein of Klee’s output and aligns with the informal tendencies that were emerging in European art at the time. Its composition is dominated by muted yellows, oranges and blues, overlaid with a regular grid that structures the surface.

Subject & Meaning

Klee’s interest in the psychological effects of color is evident in the way the tones appear to shift beneath the geometric overlay.

The painting does not depict recognizable objects; instead it investigates the interaction of color and line. The grid serves as a visual framework that both contains and disrupts the surrounding hues, suggesting a tension between order and the spontaneous movement of pigment. Klee’s interest in the psychological effects of color is evident in the way the tones appear to shift beneath the geometric overlay.

Technique & Style

Executed in oil, the piece combines smooth washes of muted pigment with a superimposed grid rendered in a contrasting tone. The juxtaposition of flat color fields and linear texture creates a sense of depth without relying on traditional perspective. This approach reflects Klee’s synthesis of expressionist vigor, cubist fragmentation, and surrealist imagination, hallmarks of his personal visual language.

History & Provenance

"Colors from a Distance" was painted during a period of intense experimentation for Klee, shortly before his forced departure from the Bauhaus. The work entered private collections in the mid‑20th century before being acquired by a European museum in the 1970s, where it has remained on display as part of a broader survey of Klee’s late abstract period.