Ancient Sound, Abstract on Black

Paul Klee

1925 · Oil on cardboard · Kunstmuseum Basel

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Ancient Sound, Abstract on Black

Castle and Sun

Fish Magic

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: 1925
Medium: Oil on cardboard
Original size: 38.3 × 38 cm
Collection: Kunstmuseum Basel
Movement: Bauhaus

Rows of soft-edged squares in muted rose, ochre, olive, mauve and slate glow out of a black ground, brightest near the centre and fading into darkness at the edges, like a chord slowly dying away. There is nothing to recognise, only colour, tone and an uneven grid. Klee painted it on cardboard in 1925, the year the Bauhaus moved from Weimar to Dessau, and it belongs to his series of square pictures, in which he tested how colours gain or lose strength and weight when set against one another. The title reflects his habit of thinking about painting in musical terms; Klee was a trained violinist and compared the layering of colour to harmony. The work is in the Kunstmuseum Basel.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

Glowing squares of muted rose, ochre and olive emerging from black, for a study, music room or dining room at 24×36 in black. A charcoal, deep green or warm grey wall; it pairs with Static-Dynamic Gradation.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of a Bauhaus painting
Era: 20th century (1925)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cream & beige
Mood: classic
Rooms: dining room, study or library, living room, dorm room, hallway or entryway
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. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

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

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • 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 exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is Ancient Sound, Abstract on Black 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 Ancient Sound, Abstract on Black painted, and in what medium?

Ancient Sound, Abstract on Black dates from 1925 and was made in oil on cardboard; the original measures 38.3 × 38 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 Ancient Sound, Abstract on Black we'd choose 24×36.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Paul Klee's Ancient Sound, Abstract on Black — a grid of softly glowing squares emerging from a black ground — shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. Klee: Line, Colour and Play, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — 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 Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

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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