Welcome to day 3 of our Art Blogmas. Today we’re hosting a beautiful painting made by the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt – The Kiss. Keep on reading to learn more about it.

Art Blogmas 2021

Gustav Klimt is a Symbolist painter from Austria who is one of the most famous representatives of the Art Nouveau style. He made numerous paintings in the same manner as this painting, but The Kiss is absolutely his most well-known artwork.

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Gustav Klimt: The Kiss

Where is it? Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna

Klimt’s famous painting was created sometime in 1907 or 1908. He painted a couple standing at the edge of a meadow filled with flowers in front of the golden background. The couple is kissing, which was something quite common in Klimt’s work with his focus on love and intimacy.

Together with a beautiful way of showing the couple’s intimacy, the flatness and usage of ornaments are what makes this painting so unique. The man’s robe is covered with geometric ornaments, while the woman’s dress is filled with circular forms. The flower meadow feels more like a texture made of floral arrangements than a part of nature.

The painting belongs to his Golden Period, which was most probably influenced by his trip to Italy. There, in Ravenna and Venice, Klimt got fascinated by the gold of the Byzantine mosaics.

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The golden background, Gustav Klimt created by applying the golden leaf, gives the whole painting a timeless feel. Similar to those on the medieval paintings.

Although his previous work was received as pornographic and shocking by his contemporaries, The Kiss was well accepted from the very beginning. It was first displayed at the exhibition in 1908 and immediately bought by the Austrian Government. Since then, it’s been exhibited at the Belvedere Castle in Vienna.

If you don’t want to miss other paintings I will share with you in this year’s Art Blogmas, be sure to check in here tomorrow at 7:30 am. Or, follow along on the Culture Tourist Facebook page and Instagram profile.