Harbour with Sailing Ships

Paul Klee like to paint images of water and he does this in an Abstract way in Harbour with Sailing Ships. This 1937 painting was done using oil.

The canvas is predominantly painted in purple. This adds a festive look when it is combined with the other shades the artist has selected, such as orange.

Klee was not aiming for accuracy in terms of reflecting the colours he was actually looking at. Instead, he tried to bring out his own response as he examined the boats on the water. Each ship has a slightly different colour but this may have been more a matter of the artist painting how energetic they looked to him than what he really saw.

The sense of a harbour being a safe place is clear. There are no lines running rapidly in different directions in this piece. This is not in any way like Boats In A Flood, where sailing vessels were being tossed around like leaves in a windstorm. Instead, the sense here is one of an orderly progression form one place to another.

The water is a place of rest as different people in their boats seek to enjoy the calm of the day. All of the occupants of the boats are minding their own space and seeking out their diversion within a relatively passive environment. In fact, no one seems to be going anywhere soon. There is no sense of being rushed.

Klee has selected high energy colours to portray a sense of fulfillment. In fact, his entire palette seems to be organised around a theme of celebration. There are no pale blues here. Spirits are high ad it may be construed that everyone there is in a good mood.

Just a little blue is used at the top left of the painting. This may be present in order to suggest a relatively calm sky. A bit of yellow may give some viewers a sense of a bright day in several ways.

It may be bright because it is being spent doing something that the people who are sailing on their boats love. It may also be bright because it is spent away from the things that would normally cause stress and turmoil.