Senecio

Paul Klee

1922 · Oil on chalk ground on gauze, mounted on cardboard · Kunstmuseum Basel

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Senecio

Ancient Sound, Abstract on Black

Hammamet with Its Mosque

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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About this work

Artist: Paul Klee (1879–1940)
Year: 1922
Medium: Oil on chalk ground on gauze, mounted on cardboard
Original size: 40.3 × 37.4 cm
Collection: Kunstmuseum Basel
Movement: Bauhaus

A round, moon-like head fills the square, divided into patches of orange, pink, yellow and white like a harlequin's costume or a mask; two red eyes sit level beneath a white triangle and a single arched brow, and a tiny square marks the mouth. The neck and shoulders are a stack of small coloured blocks. Klee painted it in 1922, while teaching at the Bauhaus in Weimar, in oil on a chalk ground over gauze, which gives the surface its fine, worn texture. The title has been linked to the plant genus Senecio, named from the Latin for old man after its white seed heads, and the picture is also known as Head of a Man Going Senile. Its reduction of a face to a few planes and two eyes has made it one of Klee's best-known images. It is in the Kunstmuseum Basel.

This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

A round harlequin face in orange, pink, yellow and white with two red eyes, for a child's room, hallway or home office at 24×36 in natural wood. A terracotta, peach or cream wall; it pairs with Castle and Sun.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Bauhaus painting
Era: 20th century (1922)
Orientation: Portrait
Mood: intimate
Rooms: hallway or entryway, home office, kids room, living room, dining room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — natural wood flatters the lighter palette; black sharpens it.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Restored in-house from the original painting — cleaned and colour-trued at museum resolution • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The image fills the print at the painting's own proportions; nothing is trimmed to fit a frame.

Is Senecio in the public domain?

Yes. Paul Klee (1879–1940) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Kunstmuseum Basel.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was Senecio painted, and in what medium?

Senecio dates from 1922 and was made in oil on chalk ground on gauze, mounted on cardboard; the original measures 40.3 × 37.4 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For Senecio we'd choose 24×36.

About this design

Senecio (Paul Klee) — Senecio · Paul Klee · 1922. This is a fine-art reproduction of a public-domain masterwork, shown whole and uncropped on a gallery ground, printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Fine Art Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

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The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

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