Paul Klee

In this artwork, a depiction of Mister Sol (1919) and a self-portrait are juxtaposed on the front and back sides. The two figures were created with a transfer technique and are both quite different, but also intimately linked.

The two virtually identical depictions were created using a transfer technique devised by Klee. The pencil drawing on what today is the back was actually created first. The sheet was then laid out on a piece of paper primed with black oil paint. Klee then traced the lines by applying light pressure with a needle, thereby causing the preliminary drawing to appear as a mirror image on the other side.

But Klee also altered the image: he drew additional lines where there were none in the pencil sketch. In this way, the self-portrait is transformed into Mister Sol with a revolving sun at the base of his nose. Mister Sol is not a traditional sun god: he is depicted as a face without contours with a slight smile, one pupil turned toward the sky and the other toward the ground. Yet by designating him “Mister”, Klee firmly anchors his subject in the earthly rather than heavenly realm.

In fact, the self-portrait on the back was itself modelled on an even earlier drawing, Absorption (1919). The presentation shown here exemplifies Klee’s creative process.