Static-Dynamic Gradation

Paul Klee

1923 · Oil and gouache on paper bordered with gouache, watercolour and ink, mounted on paperboard · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Static-Dynamic Gradation

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

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Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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About this work

Artist: Paul Klee (1879–1940)
Year: 1923
Medium: Oil and gouache on paper bordered with gouache, watercolour and ink, mounted on paperboard
Original size: 43.5 × 29.2 cm
Collection: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Movement: Bauhaus

Columns of small rectangles step from near-black at the outer edges through browns and dull reds to bright orange, olive, blue, green and white at the centre, so that the colour seems to glow outward from the middle of the sheet. A painted border in dark gouache frames the whole. Klee made it in 1923 at the Bauhaus in Weimar, where his teaching dealt with gradation, the step-by-step movement of a colour from dark to light, and with the balance between stillness and movement that the title names. Like his other square pictures of these years, it treats colour almost as music, with rhythm, intervals and a climax at the centre. The work is in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, part of the Berggruen Klee Collection given in 1987.

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 grid of browns and dull reds brightening to orange, blue and white at the centre, for a study, dining room or home office at 16×24 in black. A chocolate brown, rust or warm grey wall; it pairs with Ancient Sound, Abstract on Black.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Bauhaus painting
Era: 20th century (1923)
Orientation: Portrait
Mood: classic
Rooms: dining room, study or library, home office, living room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

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

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 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 Static-Dynamic Gradation 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 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18 and 16×24 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 Static-Dynamic Gradation painted, and in what medium?

Static-Dynamic Gradation dates from 1923 and was made in oil and gouache on paper bordered with gouache, watercolour and ink, mounted on paperboard; the original measures 43.5 × 29.2 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 16×24 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 12×18 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For Static-Dynamic Gradation we'd choose 16×24.

About this design

Static-Dynamic Gradation (Paul Klee) — Static-Dynamic Gradation · Paul Klee · 1923. 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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