Klimt’s square canvas is one of a series he produced in an extravagantly gilded style. A modern icon, it captures the universal experience of physical love.
“I am not interested in myself as an object of painting”. Gustav Klimt was born on 14 July 1862 Baumgarten, a suburb of Vienna, the son of a goldsmith. It was evident from childhood that he had a talent for drawing, and in 1867 he enrolled at Vienna’s school for Arts and Crafts, where he quickly became a star student. While still in his teens he formed a partnership with his brother and another student, Franz van Matsch, and they undertook a numbers of public commissions that culminated in projects to decorate the new Burgtheater (Austrain National Theatre) and the Kunsthistorsches (Art History) Museum. (1)
Klimt’s style was a compelling blend of Art Nouveau and Symbolist elements. From the former, he derived his taste from sinuous, decorated lines, while from the latter he borrowed his erotic subject matter and, in particular, his interest in the theme of the feminine fatale. It was his blatant eroticism which troubled the authorities, though it did not seriously damage Klimt’s career. He was always in great demand as a portraitist, and he continued to receive private commissions for decorative schemes. (2)
Head Of The Lovers – In all of Klimt’s versions of the humans embrace, the men’s face is obscured and the main emphasis in on the women. Her eyes are closed, presumably in rapture, but the picture also has a more morbid undertone. The woman’s skin has a deathly pallor, and the painful, horizontal filt, of the head is clearly design to evoke comparison with contemporary paintings of severed heads. The theme of decapitation was extremely common in Symbolism art. (3)
I love this painting because it evokes love which is the most personal and powerful feeling. I have noticed how the women’s eyes are closed within the arms of her lover—willingly submitting herself to him, to his kiss. They are firming essence of love, how two people assume the identities of each other.
Reference List
(1) Andrew Graham-Dixon, Artist Their Lives And Works, pp. 261
(2) Dr.Mike O’Mahony, World Art The Essential Illustrated History, pp. 242.
(3) Thamase & Hudson, Art THE WHOLE STORY, pp. 352.
1924593 Alina Barticel 