omphalo-centrischer Vortrag,1939

omphalo-centrischer Vortrag,1939 by Paul Klee is a powerful late-period work that showcases the artist's complex and innovative approach to materiality. Classified as a painting, this piece utilizes crayon and colored paste applied to a composite support of silk laid down on jute and mounted on a stretcher. This layering technique, characteristic of Klee's later style, results in a rich textural surface that enhances the vibrant geometric and symbolic forms.

Created in 1939, the year before the artist's death, the work belongs to a significant phase of heightened creative output despite Klee's deteriorating health. The composition demonstrates a move toward bolder, more hieroglyphic symbolism, employing a diagrammatic quality often associated with his deeply philosophical and abstract explorations. The title, which translates roughly to "Umbilical-Centric Lecture," suggests an introspective focus on internal, central, or cosmic structures, a frequent theme in Klee's iconography.

The strong graphic nature of the underlying drawing elements meant that important late works like this were often reproduced as art prints, helping to solidify Klee's reputation posthumously. This important painting, omphalo-centrischer Vortrag, remains a key example of the artist’s contribution to modern abstraction and is held within the renowned collection of the Kunstsammlung NRW.