198

1900 TO PRESENT

The Kiss
190708 OIL AND SILVER AND GOLD LEAF ON CANVAS 7034 7034in (180 180cm)
STERREICHISCHE GALERIE BELVEDERE, VIENNA, AUSTRIA

GUSTAV KLIMT

SCALE

The heady mix of sensuality and opulence in this

The greatest inuence on the artists style perhaps came

iconic image captures the essence of Klimts unique

from mosaics. Klimt had always been interested in this

approach. He was fascinated by the theme of the

medium, but his enthusiasm was red after studying the

human embrace, returning to it on several occasions,

Byzantine mosaics in the churches at Ravenna in Italy in

but this is the denitive version. The couple are locked

1903. He extended his practice of creating designs from

together, so absorbed in each other that they are no

tiny fragments of color so that the painted surfacethe

longer aware of anything beyond their own passion.

mans robe, for exampleresembles a painted mosaic.

They are encased in a strange, golden covering, which

The Ravenna mosaics also reinforced Klimts conviction

emphasizes their union and cocoons them from the

that his compositions would look more imposing and

outside world. Wearing extravagant, multicolored robes

atmospheric when set against a golden background,

that seem to merge into each other, the lovers embrace

rather than a naturalistic one.

on a small patch of grass, carpeted with an improbable

profusion of owers. The setting is pure fantasy. In
spite of all this, The Kiss remains an ambivalent picture.
The embrace appears to take place beside an abyss,
with the womans feet dangling over the edge. Is Klimt
hinting that both love and passion are precarious,
perhaps even dangerous?

An eclectic style
The Kiss was produced at the height of Klimts career,
when he was drawing upon a wide range of inuences.
It reects the fashionable taste for Art Nouveau, which
was the predominant style of the works exhibited by
Klimt and the other artists of the Vienna Secession. Art
Nouveau was characterized by a preference for stylized
forms and sinuous, linear patterns. Above all, however,

GUSTAV KLIMT

it placed more emphasis on decoration than on realism.

18621918

In The Kiss this is evident not only from the amorphous

An Austrian painter and designer, Klimt dominated the art scene

in Vienna in the early 1900s. Nothing evokes this magnicent era
more effectively than Klimts golden period paintings.

shape of the lovers robes, but also from the unrealistic

dimensions of the woman. She is kneeling down while her
partner appears to be standing, suggesting that she is
considerably taller than him. However, this is well disguised
by the wealth of decorative detail surrounding the lovers.
The theme of The Kiss had been popularized by
Symbolist artists, such as Edvard Munch. It was often used
as a pretext for depicting a femme fatale, although that is
not the case here, as Klimt has portrayed the woman in a
purely passive role. However, the erotic content and the
mysterious, evocative setting are very much in keeping
with the spirit of Symbolism.

Born in a suburb of Vienna, Gustav Klimt trained at the citys School of

Applied Art. He made his mark quickly, producing large-scale decorative
schemes for major building projects. These were well received and a
successful academic career appeared to beckon, but Klimts interests
were shifting toward avant-garde art. Finding the ofcial artists association
too staid, he withdrew from it in 1897 and, together with a group of likeminded friends, formed the Vienna Secession.
The Secession functioned mainly as an exhibiting body, opening its doors to
painters, architects, and decorative artists working in a broad range of styles.
Klimts controversial new venture curtailed commissions from ofcial sources,
but he was in great demand as a portraitist, winning particular acclaim for his
sensual depictions of beautiful women. He also continued to produce decorative
work for patrons, most notably at the Palais Stoclet in Brussels, Belgium.

THE KISS

The Kiss is the icon of a post-religious age, and Klimt

gives it the glitter and grandeur of an altarpiece
JONATHAN JONES THE GUARDIAN, 2001

GUSTAV KLIMT

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1900 TO PRESENT

Visual tour
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KEY

1 THE KISS As in Klimts other versions of this subject, the mans face is largely hidden from view.
However, his virile power is conveyed by his robust, bull-necked appearance and by the way that
his huge hands dwarf those of his partner. He is also wearing a crown of ivy, a plant sacred to the
Greek god Dionysus and his followers, the satyrs. Through these gures, there are associations
with both fertility and lust. The woman, by contrast, is entirely passive. Her eyes are closed,
presumably in ecstasy, although her ashen complexion and the painfully horizontal tilt of her head
may have been inspired by the theme of the severed head, which was fashionable in Symbolist
art. In 1901, Klimt had painted Judith with the Head of Holofernes.

4 BED OF FLOWERS Klimt used to relax by painting landscapes. These were highly unconventional,
focusing primarily on densely packed areas of brightly colored owers. In part, the inspiration for
these came from his studio garden, which he allowed to run wild, but they are also reminiscent of
the oral decoration found in early tapestries. In The Kiss, the owery bank provides a platform
for the lovers, but it also enhances the air of opulent fantasy. In its own way, it seems as exotic
and unreal as the shimmering, golden background.

2 LUXURIOUS PATTERN
During this phase of his
career, Klimt enjoyed
experimenting with beguiling
combinations of abstract
and gurative elements.
He portrayed his friends
in wildly extravagant,
patterned clothing, so that
they almost seemed to
disappear into their
voluminous robes. Often,
only their hands and faces
were visible and, as in The
Kiss, the precise outline of
their gures was obscured.
2 WOMANS ROBE The
womans dress provides a
striking contrast to that of
her partner. The golden
decoration is composed
predominantly of small,
circular forms linked by thin,
wavy lines. However, the
most eye-catching features
of her robe are the large,
brightly colored rondels,
each containing an array of
smaller circles. These were
meant to echo the owers
beneath the lovers feet.
Some of the examples at the
bottom of the womans robe
even appear to have stylized
petals. The profusion of
owers and the patterns on
the dress can both be read
as emblems of fertility.

THE KISS

GUSTAV KLIMT

ON TECHNIQUE

4 TEXTURE Klimt liked to heighten the sensual impact

of his pictures by embellishing them with a variety of
precious materials. In the background of The Kiss he
created a shimmering, granular effect by layering gold
dust on an umber background. He achieved a different
textural effect on the lovers robes by modeling some
of the patterns in gesso, before painting them gold.

3 MANS ROBE Klimt used different symbolic motifs

to distinguish between the lovers robes. The mans
attire is decorated with plain, rectangular shapes,
which are colored black, white, or silver. These angular
patterns were intended specically to conjure up
male attributes, and to contrast with the curved and
colorful motifs of the womans robe.

Although he is best known as a painter, Klimt had

a rm grounding in the decorative arts and this
never ceased to affect his style. As a child, he
learnt from his father, who was a goldsmith and
engraver, and he built on these foundations at
the School of Applied Art. In later years, he was
chiey inuenced by mosaics, particularly after
seeing the outstanding examples at Ravenna,
Italy. This prompted Klimt to build up his pictures
using brilliantly colored, fragmented forms. In
the detail below, the painted mosaic pattern is
overlaid with gilded, leafy chains like the stems
of a plant twining over the womans feet.

IN CONTEXT
Klimt was the rst president of the Vienna
Secession, which was formed in 1897. The group
held their exhibitions in the spectacular Secession
Building, which critics disparagingly referred to
as the golden cabbage because of its glittering
dome. The Secessions mottoTo each age its art,
to art its freedomis inscribed in gold letters
above the imposing geometric entrance.

1 FEET In stark contrast to the physical beauty of

many of his gures, Klimts portrayal of their limbs
was often quite distorted. The hands are too large,
while their ngers and toes may appear twisted or
deformed. This trait was probably inuenced by
the Expressionist style, which was just emerging
at the time. In this case, the detail of the womans
feet is quite ambiguous. It may be that her toes are
curled in rapture, or else they are desperately clinging
on to the last piece of solid ground, at the edge of
the precipice. On a similar note, the position of the
womans right hand, along with her unseen right arm,
is also extremely awkward.

1Secession Building (189798), Joseph Maria

Olbrich, Vienna, Austria

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