Gustav Klimt Wall Art Prints

There were very few painters who dared to zone out of the romanticism genre only to dive deep into poignant and contrast experimentation of their work and went for crisp and straight realities in their works. Gustav Klimt probably was the pioneer of such an art.

Early life:
Gustav Klimt was born in Baumgarten, near Vienna in Austria, to artisan parents and grew up to be as talented as them or perhaps, even more. He was the third of all seven children and lived in poverty. Later he and his brothers along with their friends came together to display art to earn as “Company of Artists” while studying in the University of Applied Arts, Vienna.

Klimt started off earning by painting the murals and walls of buildings. In 1888, he was awarded the Golden Order of Merit from Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria for the contributions of artistic calibre in the Burg Theatre, Vienna. Soon he became a member of the University of Vienna. They focused on bringing up the artist from various parts of the world and to flourish all styles of art and painting altogether

‘The Golden Phase’:

The period during which Klimt got critical acclamation and monetary success was known to be his Golden Phase. Main reasons for the adjective ‘Golden’ was the use of gold leaf in Klimt’s paintings.

Klimt painted in Symbolism style unlike many of his contemporaries. Contrary to Impressionism or Realism which use actual or real life props and muses fir their paintings, symbolism portrays a hidden meaning behind the painting. At this moment, using a painted object to derive the meaning for something else. It is a very stark and risqué form of painting.

Famous Artworks:

1. The Kiss
Probably the most famous of all of Klimt’s work is the Kiss. The imagery is based on two lovers slowing coming closer and intimate to kiss intertwine and fuse within each other. The rectangle bodies reverberate the notion of star, brisk and erotic love fearless of the boundaries and social norms. It is said that the lovers are Klimt and his wife herself.

2. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer 1 & 2:
If there is to symbolism a single painting, it should be the portrait of the famous industrialist’s wife: Adele Bloch- Bauer. Adele was the only woman who got the golden opportunity to be painted by Klimt twice. The face and hands are giving us a glimpse of realism fused with ample of metaphorical symbolism engraved in the gold dress and painting throughout, represent the artistic brilliance of Gustav Klimt.

3. Death And Life:
This painting tells a story in itself. It is not just a piece of insightful painting but also a marvellous bit of literature. The two sides of the painting exhibit two realms of the world: Life and Death. With death, we see no human form and everything turning into a speck of dirt and minimals, only symbols remaining and a Grim Reaper peeking into the mortal world: the living world. The Living world has many women naked, holding a baby, with a man, young and old, probably symbolising ‘ birth-giver’ and ages and gender of the mortal world.

4. Danae:
Characteristic representation of Klimt’s erotic works is Danae, a Greek mythological lady who yearns for love aking to Jupiter. The major portion covered by thigh and golden rain drops falling from heaven, all are a bold show of Klimt’s erotic work.