| The Kiss | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Gustav Klimt |
| Year | 1907–1908[1] |
| Medium | Oil andgold leaf on canvas[2] |
| Dimensions | 180 cm × 180 cm (71 in × 71 in) |
| Location | Österreichische Galerie Belvedere,Vienna, Austria |
The Kiss (German:Der Kuss) is anoil-on-canvas painting with addedgold leaf, silver and platinum by the AustrianSymbolist painterGustav Klimt.[3] It was painted at some point in 1907 and 1908, during the height of what scholars call his "Golden Period".[4] It was exhibited in 1908 under the titleLiebespaar (the lovers)[5] as stated in the catalogue of the exhibition. The painting depicts a couple embracing each other, their bodies entwined in elaborate robes decorated in a style influenced by the contemporaryArt Nouveau style and the organic forms of the earlierArts and Crafts movement.
The painting now hangs in theÖsterreichische Galerie Belvedere museum in theUpper Belvedere Palace in Vienna, and is considered a masterpiece ofVienna Secession – the local variation ofArt Nouveau – and probably Klimt's most important work.[6][7][8]
Love, intimacy, and sexuality are common themes found in Gustav Klimt's works.[citation needed] TheStoclet Frieze and theBeethoven Frieze are such examples of Klimt's focus on romantic intimacy. Both works are precursors toThe Kiss and feature the recurring motif of an embracing couple.
It is thought that Klimt and his companionEmilie Flöge modeled for the work, while others have speculated it was Austrian composerAlma Mahler,[9] but there is no evidence or record to prove this. Others suggest the female was the model known as 'Red Hilda'; she bears strong resemblance to the model in hisWoman with feather boa,Goldfish andDanaë.[10]
Gustav Klimt depicts the couple locked in an intimate embrace against a gold, flat background. The two figures are situated at the edge of a patch of flowery meadow that ends under the woman's exposed feet. The man wears a robe printed with geometric patterns and subtle swirls. He wears a crown of vines while the woman wears a crown of flowers. She is shown in a flowing dress with floral patterns. The man's face is not shown to the audience and instead, his face is bent downward to press a kiss to the woman's cheek, and his hands are cradling the woman's face. Her eyes are closed, with one arm wrapped around the man's neck, the other resting gently on his hand, and her face is upturned to receive the man's kiss.
The patterns in the painting suggests the style ofArt Nouveau and the organic forms of theArts and Crafts movement. At the same time, the background evokes the conflict between two- and three-dimensionality intrinsic to the work ofDegas and other modernists. Paintings such asThe Kiss are visual manifestations offin-de-siecle spirit because they capture a decadence conveyed by opulent and sensuous images. The use of gold leaf recalls medievalgold-ground paintings,illuminated manuscripts, earliermosaics, and the spiral patterns in the clothes recallBronze Age art and the decorative tendrils seen in Western art since before classical times. The man's head ends very close to the top of the canvas, a departure from traditional Western canons that reflects theinfluence of Japanese prints, as does the painting's simplified composition.
Klimt's father was a traveling artisan specializing in gold engravings, but Klimt's use of gold leaf in paintings was inspired by a trip he made to Italy in 1903. When he visitedRavenna he saw the Byzantine mosaics in theChurch of San Vitale. For Klimt, the flatness of the mosaics and their lack of perspective and depth only enhanced their golden brilliance, and he started to make unprecedented use of gold and silver leaf in his own work.[11]
It has also been argued that in this picture Klimt represented the momentApollo kissesDaphne, following theMetamorphoses ofOvid narrative.[12]
Art historians have also suggested that Klimt depicts the tale ofOrpheus and Eurydice. More specifically, Klimt seems to be showing the exact moment when Orpheus turns around to caress Eurydice and loses his love forever. As shown in this painting, the woman being held is slightly translucent, indicating a fading away or disappearance—as told in the story.
Klimt paintedThe Kiss soon after his three-partVienna Ceiling series, which created a scandal and were criticized as both "pornographic" and evidence of "perverted excess". The works had recast the artist as anenfant terrible for his anti-authoritarian and anti-popularist views on art. He wrote, "If you can not please everyone with your deeds and your art, please a few".[13]
The Kiss was exhibited in 1908 in Vienna in the Kunstschau – the building created in collaboration by Josef Hoffmann, Gustav Klimt, Otto Prutscher, Koloman Moser and many others, to coincide with the celebrations in Vienna for the sixtieth anniversary of Emperor Francis Joseph I’s reign from 1 June to 16 November 1908.[14][15][5]
The Kiss, however, was enthusiastically received, and was purchased, still unfinished, by the Austrian government when it was put on public exhibition.[16]
In February 2013Syrian artist Tammam Azzam superimposed an image of the painting onto a bombed building in an unidentified part of Syria, in a work calledFreedom Graffiti, to call attention to the plight of war in his country.[17]
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