Southern (Tunisian) gardens, 1919, Watercolour, Collect Paul Klee (1879-1940)

The watercolor presents a fragmented view of what appears to be a garden landscape. The composition is structured around a grid-like arrangement of rectangular blocks, each rendered in varying hues and tones. These blocks are not uniformly sized or shaped; some appear slightly irregular, contributing to the overall sense of visual disruption.
A dominant palette of yellows, greens, blues, and reds prevails, with touches of brown and grey adding depth and complexity. The colors are applied in a somewhat translucent manner, characteristic of watercolor technique, allowing underlying layers to subtly influence the final appearance. There is an intentional lack of precise detail; forms are suggested rather than explicitly defined.
Within this abstract framework, small, dark green shapes – likely intended as stylized representations of plants or foliage – are scattered throughout the composition. They appear almost like punctuation marks within the larger field of color. These elements offer a faint suggestion of naturalism, but they are subsumed by the overall abstraction.
The painting’s subtexts revolve around themes of perception and representation. The fragmented structure suggests a deconstruction of traditional landscape imagery, moving away from a mimetic depiction towards an exploration of visual experience. It is possible to interpret this as a reflection on how memory or subjective impressions shape our understanding of reality – a garden recalled not as a unified whole but as a collection of fleeting sensations and colors. The grid itself might symbolize order imposed upon nature, or conversely, the limitations of such attempts at control.
The inscription in the lower left corner, along with the date 1919, provides contextual clues without dictating interpretation. It suggests that this is not merely an abstract exercise but a record of a specific place and time – a moment captured through a lens of abstraction. The work invites contemplation on the relationship between observation, memory, and artistic expression.