Carpe Diem #1243 In The Beginning (Paul Klee, 1916)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Yesterday I told you already a little bit about Paul Klee, one of Robert Delaunay's inspirators, and I promised to share a painting by Paul Klee. Well ... I will do what I promised. Today I have a wonderful painting by Paul Klee for you, but let me first tell you a little bit more about him.

Paul Klee (1879-1940), a Swiss-born painter, printmaker and draughtsman of German nationality, was originally associated with the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter, and subsequently taught at the Bauhaus, the widely influential German art school of the interwar period. Klee's diverse body of work cannot, however, be categorized according to any single artistic movement, or "school." His paintings, which are at times fantastic, childlike, or otherwise witty, served as an inspiration to the New York School, as well as many other artists of the 20th century.
Klee was fundamentally a transcendentalist who believed that the material world was only one among many realities open to human awareness. His use of design, pattern, color, and miniature sign systems all speak to his efforts to employ art as a window onto that philosophical principle. (Source: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-klee-paul.htm)

Paul Klee, 1911 (image found on Wikipedia)

I have to admit that I had never heard from him until yesterday. So today I searched for examples of his work to use here. He has created wonderful paintings, but I was caught by his "In The Beginning", a painting he created in 1916. As I saw that painting I immediately thought back at our episode on "sacred geometry" in which I gave you a sneak preview in to the matter of "sacred geometry". I think Paul Klee would have loved the idea of "sacred geometry". Let me give you the painting for today.

In The Beginning by Paul Klee

Look at the painting ... what do you see? The first thing that catches my eye is "Nautilus-shell" shape, the basic form of all and everything, light ... as we saw in the "sacred geometry". This "Nautilus-shape" is in the middle of the painting and in a way it brought the first verses of Genesis in mind:

1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. (Genesis Chapter one verses 1-4/ NIV)

Than I see the colors of the rainbow, also mentioned in the Bible. I love how this painting tells us in a way the start of Creation ... awesome.

Paul Klee says about this painting:

[...] 'Everything vanishes around me, and works are born as if out of the void. Ripe, graphic fruits fall off. My hand has become the obedient instrument of a remote will.' [...]

"My hand has become the obedient instrument of a remote will", that sounds almost like he paints through the energy of Spirit or something ... sounds great.

Do you create your haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form as an obedient instrument of a remote will? I think that happens sometimes ... a haiku "pops up" triggered by something around you. You write it down as if your hand is not yours ... That's the power of haiku ... the power of nature ...

first sunbeam
reflects in the mirror
shimmering rainbow

© Chèvrefeuille

Sorry for the delay of this post, I had a busy day at work. This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 31st at noon (CET). For now ... have fun!