portrait of the artist: gustav klimt

(The Kiss, 1908)

Gustav Klimt is another one of my very favorite artists (I just ordered a print of The Kiss for our living room!). His mastery of shape and color is extraordinary, and I am particularly charmed by his use of gold leaf in many of his paintings. I love how he so often imagines characters in elaborate technicolor garments. There is a psychedelic quality to his work that is endlessly fascinating in its intricacy, and so many of his paintings look like they were intended to be a beautiful patchwork quilt.

(Stoclet Frieze [Expectation, The Tree of Life, Fulfillment], c.1909)

(Water Serpents II, 1907)

(The Maiden, 1912-13)

(Death and Life, 1916)

(Adele Bloch-Bauer I, 1907)

(Hope II, 1907-08)

(Music, 1895)

(Mother and Child, 1905)

(Beethoven Frieze: Hostile Powers [left panel], 1902)

(Beethoven Frieze: Hostile Powers [right panel], 1902)

(Goldfish, 1902)

(Water Sprites, 1899)

(Garden Path with Chickens, 1916)

(A Field of Poppies, 1907)

(Forest of Birch Trees, 1902)

(Houses at Unterach on the Attersee, 1916)

(Water Castle, 1908)

Usually when I do these little artist e-galleries I put the pieces in chronological order so you can get a sense of the artist's technical progression and see how their style emerges and becomes increasingly defined. In Klimt's case (perhaps with the exception of his very early work--see Music, above), I didn't see such a distinct evolution of technique, and I thought it would make more sense to arrange the paintings in a more aesthetic order--from his portrayal of the feminine mystique to elegant pastorals, with life and death in between.

What is your favorite Klimt piece?