Gustav Klimt painting style. During this period, Klimt travels a lot - visits Italy, Belgium, England, Spain and other countries, discovering new names of artists - Toulouse - Lautrec, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Munch, Matisse ... He writes with great joy that he

Biography
Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), painter, founder of Art Nouveau in Austrian painting. One of the most refined artists of the Art Nouveau era. At the beginning of the 20th century, he frankly erotic paintings shocked the refined Viennese public. Some considered Klimt a genius, others - "a perverted decadent."

He was born in the Vienna suburb of Baumgarten on July 14, 1862 in the family of the engraver and jeweler Ernest Klimt. He studied with his father, and in 1875-1883 - at the school of crafts at the Vienna Austrian Art and Industry Museum, where in 1877 he entered younger brother Ernest.

1879-1885 - Gustav with his brother and young artist Franz Match works, decorating the theaters of the Austro-Hungarian province (in Reichenberg, Fiume and Karlsbad - Karlovy Vary) and the ceilings of Viennese palaces with decorative painting, and already in 1880 - receives the first serious order - "Four allegory."

1885-1886 - they decorate the Vienna buildings of the Burgtheater and the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
During this period of joint work, Klimt's style begins to differ from that of his brother and Mutsch and moves away from the academic manner of drawing.

Upon completion of work at the Burgtheater, Emperor Franz Joseph awards Klimt the Golden Cross for services to art.

1886 - Klimt performs wall panels for the assembly hall of the University of Vienna with allegorical image three faculties "Jurisprudence", "Philosophy" and "Medicine". The canvases will be rejected due to "provocative eroticism": the Klimtian ladies, symbolizing Philosophy and other disciplines, seemed to the customer too cutesy and incompatible with the spirit of rigorous science.

1891 - Klimt becomes a member of the Union of Fine Arts.

1894 - Klimt, together with Franz Match, receives an order for the decoration of "Aula Magna" at the University of Vienna.

More and more involved in the elements of modernity and, accordingly, in opposition to the academic tradition, Klimt became in 1897 one of the founders of the Vienna Secession, independent of the Academy of Arts (German: Sezession - “falling away”, “separation”). He breaks forever with the official creative circles and immediately leads a new community of innovative painters. In the same year, in the summer, in the town of Kammer on the Attersee, he painted his first landscapes.

1898 - The Sacrum newspaper is founded - the public organ of the Secession, the first exhibitions of its members are held. During these years, Klimt developed as an expressionist, his works are distinguished by the ornamental depiction of forms that are filled with mosaics.

1901-1902 - for exhibition building Secession Klimt creates the "Beethoven Frieze", embodying the themes of the Ninth Symphony.

1903 - Klimt travels around Italy (Ravenna, Venice, Florence). Luxurious Byzantine mosaics seen here stagger the imagination of the master. Since then, the ability to convey real objects through the play of decorative ornaments has become his hallmark. His "golden period" begins. On his initiative, the "Viennese Workshops" were created, which played an important role in the stylistic renewal of Austrian design. In the same year, a retrospective of works by Gustav Klimt is held at the Secession.

1904 - Klimt writes sketches for the wall mosaics of the Stoclet Palace in Brussels, which were made in the artist's Viennese studio.

1905 - Aula Magna slabs, created at the University of Vienna, are purchased from the Austrian Gallery.

After leaving the Secession in 1906, he founded the new Union of Austrian Artists, supporting the still little-known O. Kokoschka and E. Schiele at its exhibitions.
1909-1911 - works on frescoes in the Stoclet Palace.

1917 - Begins work on The Bride and Adam and Eve. Only at this time did he win full official recognition, becoming an honorary professor at the Vienna and Munich academies.
February 6, 1918 Klimt dies in Vienna from a stroke, leaving a huge amount of unfinished work.

Klimt went down in history, primarily for his sharply expressive portraits of women(E. Flöge, 1902, A. Bloch-Bauer, 1907) and symbolic paintings, saturated with dramatic, "fatal" eroticism ("Judith 1", 1901; "Kiss", 1907-1908, "Salome", 1901; "Danae ", 1907). He enhanced this “Dionysian” drama with golden backgrounds, then with large color patterns, from the shimmering elements of which, as if from the floor, shimmering figures were born.

Gustav Klimt. Symbolism of the "Secession" and femme fatales

Athena Pallas. 1898

Here Klimt first used gold. Sensual ornamentation emphasizes the important erotic component of his ideas about the world.

“We want to declare war on sterile routine, immobile Byzantinism, all kinds of bad taste... Our Secession is not a struggle between contemporary artists and old masters, but a struggle for the success of artists, not shopkeepers who call themselves artists, but at the same time, their commercial interests interfere with the flourishing of art. This declaration of Hermann Bahr, playwright and theater critic, the spiritual father of the secessionists, can serve as a motto for the founding in 1897 of the "Vienna Secession", one of the founders, president (until 1905) and spiritual leader of which was Klimt.

Artists younger generation they no longer wanted to accept the guardianship that academism imposed on them; they demanded that their work be exhibited in a proper place, free from "market forces". They wanted to end the cultural isolation of Vienna, invite artists from abroad to the city and make the work of the Secession members known in other countries. The program of the secessionists was significant not only in the "aesthetic" context, but also as a battle for the "right to create", for art as such; it was the basis for the battle between "great art" and "secondary genres", between "art for the rich" and "art for the poor" - in short, between "Venus" and "Nini".

The "Viennese Secession" played an important role in the development and dissemination of the Art Nouveau style as a force opposing official academism and bourgeois conservatism. This revolt of youth in search of liberation from the restrictions imposed on art by social, political and aesthetic conservatism, could develop through unprecedented success and culminate in a utopian project: the idea of ​​transforming society through art.

The Vienna Secession art association began to publish its own magazine, Ver Sacrum (Holy Spring), with which Klimt collaborated regularly for two years. After the success of the movement and successful exhibitions in other countries, the project to build an exhibition building for the Secession became a reality. Klimt submitted his Greco-Roman blueprints for the project, but preference was given to (and ultimately implemented) the "palace of arts" design designed by Joseph Maria Olbrich. His concept was to mix geometric shapes from a cube to a sphere. On the pediment was placed the famous saying of the art critic Ludwig Hevesy: “Time is your art. Art is your freedom."

The opening in March 1898 of the exhibition building of the Vienna Secession was eagerly awaited. Here Klimt presented the composition "Theseus and My Notaur", filled with rich symbolic meaning. The fig leaf was deliberately absent, and the artist was forced to calm the bashfulness of the censors by depicting a tree. Theseus, almost completely naked, symbolized the struggle for the new in art; he is on the illuminated side, while the Minotaur, pierced by the sword of Theseus and timidly retreating into the shadows, personifies the broken power. Athena, emerging from the head of Zeus, watches over the scene as the embodiment of a spirit born of reason, symbolizing divine wisdom.

Schubert at the piano. 1899

In Vienna, the "peaceful" works of Klimt were admired, and he pleased the public by portraying the beloved composer of the sentimental bourgeoisie.

There is no art without patronage, and patrons for the "Secession" were found primarily among the Jewish families of the Viennese bourgeoisie: Karl Wittgenstein, a steel magnate, Fritz Werndorfer, a textile magnate, as well as the Knips and Lederer families, who supported precisely Art Nouveau. All of them were among those who commissioned paintings by Klimt, and he specialized in portraits of their wives.

Portrait of Sonya Knips. 1898

The portrait of a young lady from society expresses the indifference and aloofness characteristic of all fatal women since that time.

The portrait of Sonya Knips was the first in this "gallery of wives". The Knips family was associated with the iron and steel industry and banking. Josef Hofmann designed their house, and Klimt painted a number of paintings, including in 1898 a portrait of Sonia in the center of the living room. The portrait combines several styles. It is well known that Klimt bowed to Makart’s hyperbole, and the pose of Sonia Knips indicates the influence of the creator of the portrait of the famous Burgtheater actress Charlotte Voltaire as Messalina, which manifests itself, for example, in the asymmetric position of the figure and in the accentuation of the silhouette. On the other hand, the interpretation of the dress, which is completely uncharacteristic for Klimt, is reminiscent of Whistler's light crate. The proud, reserved expression that Klimt gave to this society lady is typical of the artist; since then, it has reappeared again and again in his fatal women.

Nuda Veritas (The Naked Truth). 1899

This true woman, two meters tall, expressive and provocative in her nakedness, embarrassed and teased the Viennese public. Only her pubic hair was enough to declare war on the classic ideal of beauty.

One of the most popular ideas of the fin de siecle (end of the century) was the dominance of women over men. The theme of "struggle of the sexes" swept the salons; artists and intellectuals also took part in the discussion. Pallas Athena, painted by Klimt in 1898, was the first image in his gallery of "superwomen": with her armor and weapons, Athena is sure of victory, she subdues the man, and possibly the entire male sex. Some of the elements that appear in this picture will be fundamental in Klimt's further work: for example, the use of gold and the transformation of the body into an ornament, and the ornament into a body. Klimt continued to work with the external form, in contrast to the younger generation of Expressionists, who were looking for immediate penetration into the soul. Klimt's visual language took both male and female symbols from the world of Freudian dreams. Sensual, eroticized ornament reflects one of the sides of Klimt's ideas about the world.

The eroticism of Klimt's work constantly provoked controversy, as in the case of three sketches for decorative panels for the Great Hall of the University, which were perceived as scandalous. In 1899 Klimt presented the final version of Philosophy, the first of these three paintings. The original version by that time had already been shown at the World Exhibition in Paris. Although she was well received by many critics and even won a prize at an exhibition, the educated public in Vienna made her the object of such a scandal, as if all Viennese culture had been trampled into the mud. Yet, apparently, Klimt wrote it only with the best of intentions.

Philosophy. 1899-1907

Men and women swim as if in a trance, not controlling the chosen direction. This was contrary to the ideas of science and knowledge prevailing among the scientists of that time, who felt mortally insulted. The work was commissioned by the University of Vienna.

“Although you cannot please all people with your actions and your art, you wish to please not many. It's not good to please the crowd." Judging by the outrage provoked by Klimt's Medicinal, he seems to have made Schiller's principle his own.

He perceived "Philosophy" as a synthesis of his ideas about the world, and at the same time as a search for his own style. In the catalogue, he explained: “On the left is a group of figures: Beginning of life, Maturity and Withering. On the right is a ball representing a mystery. An illuminated figure appears below: Knowledge.

However, the venerable Viennese professors rebelled against what they saw as an attack on tradition. They offered the artist to paint a picture that could express the triumph of light over darkness. Instead, Klimt presented them with an image of "the victory of darkness over everything." Being impressed by the works of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche and trying to find my own way to solve the metaphysical riddle human existence, the artist turned their idea around to express the confusion of modern man. He did not hesitate to break the taboo on such topics as illness, physical decline, poverty - in all their ugliness; before that, reality was usually sublimated, presenting its most beneficial aspects.

Flow. 1898

Water women of Klimt with sensual expression yield to the embrace of the waves, their natural element.

Life and the erotic idea of ​​it have always been concentrated around the struggle between Eros and Thanatos, and these ideas completely captured Klimt. The allegory "Medicine", the second in a cycle of compositions for the University, again caused a scandal. The bodies, torn out by fate, are carried forward by the stream of life, in which, reconciled, all its stages, from birth to death, experience delight or pain. Such a vision borders on belittling the role of medicine; it emphasizes her powerlessness in comparison with the inescapable forces of Rock. Isn't Hygieia, the goddess of health, standing with her back to the human race with priestly indifference, more of a mysterious or charming femme fatale than a symbol of learned enlightenment? Isn't the captivating female bodies mixed with skeletons a direct illustration of Nietzsche's parable of the "eternal return", where death is seen as the highest point of life? In Philosophy and Medicine, Klimt expresses the Schopenhauerian point of view that "the world as desire, as a blind force in the eternal cycle, is born, loves and dies."

Medicine. 1900-1907

Klimt was condemned for portraying the helplessness of medicine and the power of disease. The public was deeply outraged, shocked, and the artist was accused of "pornography" and "excessive perversion."

The third work for the University, "Jurisprudence", was received with the same hostility; viewers were shocked at the ugliness and nudity they believed they saw. Only one Franz von Wickhoff, professor of art history at the University of Vienna, defended Klimt in a legendary lecture entitled "What's ugly?". However, the scandal provoked by Klimt was discussed even in Parliament. The artist was accused of "pornography" and "excessive perversion".

Jurisprudence. 1903-1907

Instead of depicting the victory of light over darkness, as expected, Klimt reflected the human sense of insecurity in the world around him.

It seems that Klimt interprets sexuality in terms inspired by Freud's research into the psychology of the unconscious. Risky attempts of the artist - oh shame! — were aimed at presenting sexuality as a liberating force in contrast to scientific knowledge and its limited determinism. Klimt was expected to glorify science, but instead he was carried away by a quote from Virgil's Aeneid, which Freud paraphrased in his Interpretation of Dreams: "If I cannot control the gods, I will invoke hell."

Klimt did not allow himself to be intimidated by harsh criticism and continued to go his own way. His only response to the militant opposition was the painting, which was first called My Critics, and after the exhibition - Goldfish. Public anger has reached its climax: the beautiful, naughty nymph in the foreground has put her butt on display for all to see! Marine figures lure the viewer into the world of sexual fantasies and associations, comparable to the world of Freud's symbols. This world has already been glimpsed in the Current and the Nymphs (Silverfish) and will be rediscovered a few years later in the pictures Water Serpents I and Water Serpents II. Art Nouveau liked to depict the underwater kingdom, where dark and light algae grow on venus mollusks or a delicate tropical coral body shimmers in the center of a bivalve shell. The meaning of the symbols brings us back to their undoubted prototype, the woman. In these underwater dreams, algae become hair growing on the head and pubis. They follow the flow in an undulating movement, so characteristic of the Modern. With languid resistance, they yield to the embrace of the sea element, just as Danae is open to Zeus, penetrating into her in the form of golden rain.

Nymphs (Silver fish). OK. 1899

These maritime images pave the way through the labyrinth of sexual allusions recognizable in Freud's world of symbols.

Judith I. 1901

The association with sexuality and mortality, Eros and Thanatos attracted at that time not only Klimt and Freud, but the whole of Europe; the quivering audience listened to the presentation of the bloody passion of Clytemnestra in the opera by Richard Strauss.

Portraits of ladies from society gave Klimt material independence. Thus, he was not obliged to cater to public tastes or to see how his carefully thought out and brilliantly executed works were trampled into the dirt. He believed that his paintings could be redeemed for the same amount for which they were purchased. He explained to the Viennese journalist Bertha Zuckerkandl: “The main reasons why I decided to ask for the paintings back to me ... are not caused by irritation at various attacks ... they could arise in myself. All the attacks of criticism hardly touched me at that time, and besides, it was impossible to take away the happiness that I experienced while working on these works. In general, I am very insensitive to attacks. But I become much more sensitive if I understand that someone who commissioned my work is unhappy with it. As in the case when paintings are covered up. In the end, the government agreed to have the industrialist August Lederer buy Philosophy for a fraction of the original price. In 1907, Koloman Moser acquired Medicine and Jurisprudence. In an attempt to save the paintings during World War II, they were moved to Immendorf Castle in southern Austria; On May 5, 1945, the castle and everything that was stored in it were destroyed in a fire during the retreat of the SS troops. Today, some idea of ​​​​the work that once caused such public outrage can be obtained from black-and-white photographs and good color copy of the Goddess Hygieia, central figure Medicine. There is also a “colourful” comment by Ludwig Hevesy: “Let the eye pass to the two side pictures, Philosophy and Medicine: a magical symphony in green, an inspiring overture in red, a purely decorative piece in red juice on both. Jurisprudence is dominated by black and gold, unreal colors; and at the same time the line acquires meaning, and the form becomes monumental.

Klimt's work arose in the struggle between Eros and Thanatos, denying the basic laws of bourgeois society. In Philosophy, he depicted the triumph of darkness over light, contrary to conventional wisdom. In Medicine exposed her inability to cure the disease. Finally, in Jurisprudence, he painted a condemned man in the power of the three Furies: Truth, Justice and Law. They appear as Erinyes surrounded by snakes; as a punishment, the octopus squeezes the condemned man in his deadly embrace. With his images of sexual archetypes, Klimt wanted to shock a stiff society and “bring down the pillars” of morality.

Nothing has survived from this specially conceived group, except for some material evidence: photographs and copies from fragments of disappeared masterpieces. And also the bitter realization of the impotence of the artist, ridiculed by censorship. Klimt was never a professor at the Academy; but in front of those who mocked him, he held a mirror of "naked truth" - Nuda Veritas.

Judith II (Salome). 1909

Judith or Salome? Klimt clearly painted the “deadly orgasm” of a femme fatale rather than a portrait of a virtuous Jewish widow

“Time is your art. Art is your freedom,” Hevesy wrote on the pediment of the Vienna Secession exhibition building. Klimt wanted to be completely free, wanted to think and write independently of official orders, and in this he received support from several loyal patrons. Before the scandal with the University of Vienna, he met Nikolaus Dumba, the son of a Greek businessman from Macedonia, who was connected with the East and excelled in banking and the textile industry. The interior decoration of Dumba's office was done by Hans Makart; after Makart's death, Klimt became his favorite artist. It was to him that Dumba confided when he furnished and decorated the music salon in his palace. Klimt completed two paintings above the portal: the first depicted Schubert at the piano, while the second, Music II, depicts a Greek priestess with an Apollo cithara. The first is marked by nostalgia for a lost paradise, which is among a carefree company enjoying home music. The second is written in a completely different style and points to the Dionysian world of musical symbols. “In these two paintings,” wrote Carl E. Schorske, “bourgeois serenity and Dionysian excitement clash in the same room. The picture with Schubert shows the composer at home, surrounded by music, which is the highest aesthetic point of security and a correct way of life. The stage is illuminated by the warm light of the candelabra, which softens the outlines of the figures, so that they dissolve in festive harmony ... Klimt uses the technique of the Impressionists to place his historical reconstruction into an atmosphere of nostalgic remembrance. He presents us with a sweet dream, bright but incorporeal - a dream of innocent, pleasurable art in the service of a carefree society."

Portrait of Geta Felshvani. 1902

This was the Klimt whom Vienna loved, the Klimt who captivated even the most conservative public, rewarding them with more than applause. He gave the public Furthermore what she expected was the composer Schubert, the sacred object of her sentimental reverence. Klimt retained this attractive style for patrons from high Viennese society. Obviously, this manifested itself both in his Portrait of Sonya Knips, and in the tenderness of subsequent portraits of "wives": Gerta Felyivani, Serena Lederer and Emilia Flöge. However, the women in these portraits always have the same serene, dreamy expression on their faces: they look at the world and at the man melancholy and aloof. Klimt's "fear of free space" manifested itself here simultaneously with the majestic poses of the heroines. His eclecticism allowed him to create in the style of either Diego Velasquez or Fernand Knopf. From one he took the manner of writing the outlines of chins and magnificent hairstyles; from the other - the main characteristics of femme fatales. There is always something overwhelming in the seeming passivity of his models.

Portrait of Serena Lederer. 1899

Klimt knew how to please the prosperous Jewish citizens of Vienna who supported the Secession. He painted portraits of their wives, giving them boundless charm and a touch of arrogance.

Portrait of Emilie Flöge. 1902

Emilia Flöge was Klimt's great love and his companion until the end of her days. She ran a fashion house, and he designed fabrics and dresses for her. His patterns look as if they were carved from the ornaments of his paintings.

Nevertheless, Klimt not only followed the requirements of the customer, it seemed that he got rid of all restrictions and painted the way he wanted. A completely different type of woman arose in the paintings, dangerous and possessed by instincts, as in Pallas Athena and Nuda Veritas (Naked Truth). Appearing for the first time in a drawing for the magazine "Ver Sacrum", this character became known as the "demon of the Secession". The second version of the image - an oil painting (2.6 meters high) - expresses the breakthrough of Klimt's new, "naturalistic" style. The public was shocked and embarrassed by the provocatively nude red-haired woman: it was not Venus, but rather a life-sized cocotta Nini, a creature of flesh and blood, cutting ties with the traditional idealization of the nude woman in art. Schiller's quote serves as a comment that reinforces the provocativeness and ensures the subsequent rejection of the public: “Although you cannot please all people with your actions and your art, you want to please a few. It's not good to please the crowd." This first version, published in Ver Sacrum, was also accompanied by a quote from L. Schaeffer: "True art is created by a few and appreciated by a few."

Judith I and, eight years later, Judith II are the next incarnations of Klimt's femme fatale archetype. His Judith is not a biblical heroine, but rather a Viennese contemporary of his, as evidenced by her fashionable, perhaps expensive neckpiece. According to the publications of Berta Zuckerkandl, Klimt created the vamp type long before Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, who personified him, appeared on the silver screen. Proud and free, but at the same time mysterious and charming, the femme fatale values ​​herself higher than the male spectator.

Beech forest. OK. 1902

Klimt brought to his landscapes the same sensuality that can be found in his portraits. Here he turns to the intricate tapestry effect.The trees depicted by Van Gogh sound like fanfares in modern painting, while the sensual awe of women is felt in the trees of Klimt.

Pictures cannot be considered separately from luxurious frames. The first version of the frame was made by the artist's brother, jeweler Georg Klimt, by chance. The ornament in the picture was also transferred to the frame in a very popular manner then, proposed by the Pre-Raphaelites. The paintings were created under the influence of Byzantine art, which Klimt studied during a trip to Ravenna. The intended contrast between the three-dimensional plasticity of a finely drawn and softly painted face and the two-dimensional surface of the ornament is distinguishing feature these pictures. The "photomontage effect" enhances their charm.

Without a doubt, Klimt found in Judith a generalizing symbol of the justice that a woman does over a man who atones for his guilt by death. To save her people, Judith seduced the enemy commander Holofern and cut off his head. The Old Testament heroine — a fine example of courage and determination, serving as an ideal — becomes Klimt’s “castering” woman… In this biblical figure, Eros and Death are united in a familiar union, which the fin de siecle (the end of the century) found so intriguing . Another example of a "castrating" woman, shamelessly embodying the most vicious fantasies, was the bloodthirsty Clytemnestra, the heroine of Richard Strauss's opera Elektra.

Judith Klimt was supposed to irritate that part of Viennese society (otherwise ready to accept his violations of taboos), which was called the Jewish bourgeoisie. Klimt violated religious prohibitions, and the audience could not believe their eyes. Commentators have speculated that Klimt must have been mistaken in asserting that this frantic, virtually orgasmic woman, with her half-closed eyes and slightly parted lips, was a pious Jewish widow and a bold heroine. Without the slightest pleasure, the biblical Judith fulfilled the terrible mission entrusted to her by heaven, and cut off the head of Holofernes, the leader of the Assyrian army. The people were sure that Klimt must have been referring to Salome, the quintessential fin de femme fatale who had already captivated so many artists and thinkers, from Gustave Moreau to Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley, Franz von Stuck and Max Klinger. And the picture "Judith" from the best of intentions was constantly called "Salome" in catalogs and magazines. It remains unknown whether Klimt attributed the features of Salome to his Judith; but whatever his intentions, the result was the most eloquent depiction of Eros and the fantasies of the artist's contemporary femme fatale.

Goldfish. 1901 - 1902

This painting is Klimt's answer to sharp criticism his faculty paintings. Entitled at first "Mem to the critics," the picture shows in the foreground an amazing, nimble naiad, who frankly put her beautiful ass on display.

But Klimt was not only a connoisseur of femme fatales. While his writings for the Great Hall of the University were still causing wide resonance, he began to "cultivate his garden" like Candide. Klimt turned to landscape painting, taking the landscapes of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists as a starting point. One can find sufficient grounds to consider as a model for some early landscapes Klimt, such as the Swamp (1900) or the High Poplars II (1903), Monet's work served. However, as a landscape painter, Klimt offers a stable synthesis of Impressionism and Symbolism. The outlines of the strokes are destroyed (this is reminiscent of the Impressionists), but the schematic interpretation of the surface often indicates the influence of the East, typical of Art Nouveau. Unlike the Impressionists, Klimt is not fond of the image of water, as well as the play of chiaroscuro. As in his portraits, in landscapes he seems to make mosaics, combining naturalism with schematism. This becomes apparent when comparing such paintings as After the Rain, Nymphs or the Portrait of Emilia Flöge with the Beech Forest. In landscapes, as well as in portraits and allegories, figures and forms appear as if against a background of planar ornamentation.

Forest scenes such as the Beech Forest are like tapestries in which Klimt brings a sense of rhythm, creating a repeating pattern by grouping vertical and horizontal lines. Van Gogh fought desperately for the victory of modern painting, while Klimt was more of a silent reaper whose sensuous gleam of landscapes is enhanced by ornamental and symbolic meaning. A variety of mosaic pieces that filled the horizon and destroyed free space helped him get rid of the "fear of free space."

The fact that there is not even a hint of the presence of people in his landscapes helps us understand that Klimt really perceived landscapes as living beings. The artist's attitude to landscapes is as peculiar as to women - the main characters of his work. Doesn't the dress worn by Emilia Flöge in her first portrait (1902) look like the fabric was cut from a forest landscape to fit the woman's body like a second skin? Klimt chose this dress to emphasize all the advantages of a slender silhouette; a little strange what it caused in Vienna new scandal. Even the artist's mother expressed her dissatisfaction with the new-fangled dress, which, with ruffles and frills not yet accepted at that time, went, in her opinion, far beyond the bounds of decency.

In Klimt's portraits, dresses play no less a role than the models themselves. They skillfully serve to reveal the individuality of a woman, enhancing the perception of the face, neck and hands. As a classic example, Ingres can be cited, whose portraits are also full of sensual beauty. For both artists, clothing performed the same necessary function as the body. Gaetan Pico's statement about Ingres can equally be applied to Klimt: “There is nothing more skillful, more refined in the work of Ingres than the harmony of neck and necklace, velvet and flesh, cape and hairstyle; or the borders of contact between the chest and a deeply low-cut dress, a hand and a long glove. If in these portraits the women are dressed in any particular dress, it is because the light of desire emanates from them; they come towards us in veiled nakedness…”

Gilles Nere. Tachen / Art spring, 2000

Other jobs

01 - Golden Adele. 1907

02 - Frieze of Beethoven (detail: hostile forces). 1902

03 - Idyll. 1884

04 - Fable. 1898

05 - Kiss. 1907-1908

06 - Danae. 1907-1908

07 - Frieze of Beethoven, Wandgem. 1902

08 - Three ages of women. 1905

09 - Water kites 1. 1904-1907

10 - Girlfriends. 1916-1917

11 - Water snakes 2. 1904-1907

12 - Virgins. 1913

13 - Life and Death. 1908-1911

31 - Flowering field. 1909

32 - Malcesine Castle on Lake Garda. 1913

33 - Kammer Castle on the Attersee. 1910

34 - Park. 1910

35 - Poplar-giant, or an impending thunderstorm. 1903

36 - Pond in the park of Kammer Castle. 1899

37 - Church in Kasson. 1913

38 - Road in the park of Kammer castle. 1912

39 - Guardaboski's house. 1912

40 - Peasant house in Upper Austria. 1912

41 - Apple tree. 1916

42 - Flower garden. 1905-1906

43 - Castle Kammer on the lake Attersee. 1912

44 - Dancer. 1906

45 - Kiss. 1907-1908

46 - Love. 1895

Name Gustav Klimt ( Gustav Klimt, 1862-1918) associated with "The Kiss", "Golden Adele" and other paintings of the "Golden period", rarely remembering the graphics. It is understandable. In the dazzling luxury of the canvases, a simple graphite pencil on wrapping paper loses its significance.

But Gustav Klimt is a brilliant graphic artist, even though his drawings have a piquant detail that scares the townsfolk. They are ninety percent pornography, and the artist himself is called a voyeur and attributed to him with sexual disorders. Actual topic modern times, right?

The reason for the article was the ongoing exhibition of graphics by the artist and his follower Egon Schiele. IN later work Klimt, an unprepared viewer will see only a woman who gets an orgasm, masturbates, shows her genitals, has sex and sleeps blissfully after reaching orgasm. Erotica and pornography have hidden meaning, which can be understood only by knowing the personality of the artist more deeply. Although he himself called for paying attention to his work for this, there are, nevertheless, points that need clarification.

Gustav Klimt was going to become an art teacher, but became a world-class artist. Due to the conservative mood of the Viennese society, it took a long time before he was able to come to his own style and create independently of the Viennese House of Artists. Oddly enough, another state order and a rebellious spirit helped him in his final development. The famous trio of faculty paintings, like Klimt himself, were severely criticized by the professors and society as a whole. New honest interpretations of the classical allegories of science have hit hard on the morality of a society stuck in idealistic foundations.

"Philosophy", "Medicine" and "Jurisprudence" became the first canvases in which the individual style Klimt. It was this event that served as the development of Art Nouveau in Vienna. When the clash of interests reached its limit, the artist decided from now on never to take government orders that severely limit creativity. He also bought the paintings from the state. The Vienna Secession appeared in opposition to the House of Artists, and the idea of ​​freedom eventually became the main motive of everything creative way Klimt. Even in clothes, he demonstrated his attitude to outdated foundations, wearing a loose blouse to the floor on naked body. By the way, the artist also turned out to be a talented fashion designer and helped Emilia Flege with the development of patterns for dresses.

With the refusal of state orders, the artist was not left without a livelihood. Influential people Vienna, mostly Jews, supported Klimt in every possible way and commissioned portraits of their wives and daughters from him, admiring the artist's approach to art. These portraits are devoid of open eroticism, but the look of women on them means a hundred times more than a naked body. He is languid, powerful and attractive. The artist was well aware of the nature of female sexuality and maternal instincts. From here appeared multiple images of a pregnant woman, her three ages and sex scenes.

There were always models in the artist's studio. Many of them were prostitutes, which explains the looseness and posing in sketches of sexual acts. The models chatted and relaxed, ready to respond to the artist's gesture and start posing immediately. Klimt recorded subtle gestures, body parts, postures in notebooks and on separate sheets. under his pencil smooth lines formed life, formed into a single composition worthy of independence from the general plan of the picture. In search of an ideal, up to a hundred sketches appeared for just one fragment. The artist worked out the details to the smallest detail, masterfully rotating the subject of the sketch in the three-dimensional space of the sheet. Klimt did not consider his drawings independent work because for him they were only a means to an end. In tens of thousands graphic drawings he skillfully captured the moments of the life of his countless models. Of this set, only a little more than four thousand sketches have survived. Some of them are in galleries around the world, others are in private collections.

The work of the Austrian is characterized by allegories and symbolism. Using the example of Danae, one can best understand the author's intention, at the same time noting the initial study that has undergone changes. The preparatory sketch is much more explicit than the canvas itself. The liberated pose of the Greek woman was eventually replaced by a modest one.

And yet, the plot remained, only the form changed: Zeus penetrates into the bosom of Danae with a golden rain, conceiving Perseus. Obviously, the golden rain is the seed of Zeus, the black rectangle is a symbol of the masculine principle, and the circles on the fabric are nothing more than the initial form of the embryo. In the future, these symbols will meet more than once in the paintings, hinting at biological processes. On the clothes of the lovers of The Kiss, around the golden Adele, on the dress of Nadezhda II and in many other works of the artist.

In outline different years style changes are well traced. With the departure from academicism, the sketch acquired a different character. From now on, attention is focused on conveying the position of the figure on the canvas, its gestures and behavior. Over time, the artist abandoned the broken lines, which he preferred until 1900. Simplicity appeared in his sketches, which did not detract from the accuracy of the transmission of the message. The outline became the method of depiction, and the human body became the subject of artistic passion. Along with this, around 1904, Klimt changed the usual duet of wrapping paper and black chalk to softer Japanese paper and graphite pencil, sometimes resorting to blue and red.

For example, the drawing “Reclining Nude” (1913) is completely made in red, the sketch for “Judith II” (1908) has blue, and the sketch for the portrait of Friederike Maria Beer (1915-1916) has slightly painted lips in scarlet. Otherwise, Klimt rarely changed classical graphite. But behind all the technical moments there is a major change - the focus is finally shifting to a woman and the life that is emerging in her.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the development of medical and biological sciences in Vienna was gaining momentum. Research human brain led to a number of discoveries, including the primitive instincts inherent in it. Interest in human body Klimt appeared after acquaintance with the works of Darwin, and he came to the unconscious from Rokitansky, Meinert and Freud. The philanthropist and admirer of Klimt's work, Emil Zuckerkandl, unofficially taught the artist biology, initiated him into embryology, and even invited him to dissections. Social gatherings at the salon of his wife, Bertha Zuckerkandl, encouraged dialogue between scientists and artists. The modernists quickly realized the important role of the unconscious in human behavior. In particular, the dialogue with science influenced Klimt's work. Looking closely, one can find in the color patterns on canvases and ornaments a resemblance to cells, and in graphics since 1904 there is more and more sexual context. Through the image of mother and child, the themes of death, conception and the three ages of a woman, the artist urged society to think about the mysteries of nature, but among his contemporaries he received only misunderstanding and condemnation.

Summing up, nevertheless I will say a few words about the exhibition itself. The collection of drawings in Pushkinsky is modest not only in terms of the number of exhibits, but also in terms of their content. Even in terms of content. Obviously, society in our country is still not ready to revise Klimt's work and elevate it to the rank of art, not pornography. There is an assumption that in our century the most interesting drawings to study will continue to travel around the world, bypassing our country. Of course, all works are worthy of attention, but, in my opinion, the topic discussed in the article is more interesting to many fans of the work of the Austrian artist.

Gustav Klimt - one of the most original artists of Austria late XIX- the beginning of the XX century. The protagonists of his paintings are mostly women, and the works themselves touch upon such universal themes as death, old age and love, conveyed by bright colors and golden scales with smooth transitions, which gives individuality to his work.

EARLY YEARS.

Gustav Klimt was born on July 14, 1862 in the suburbs of Vienna - Baumgarten. Gustav's father, Ernst Klimt, was an engraver and jeweler. The Klimt family had seven children - three boys and four girls. His father began to teach the art of painting to Gustav, and in 1876, having brilliantly passed the entrance exams, Gustav entered the Vienna Art and Craft School at the Austrian Museum of Art and Industry, where he studied until 1883, specializing in architectural painting. The rest of Gustav's brothers studied at the same school.

Portrait of Clara Klimt, 1883

Portrait of Helene Klimt, 1898

Portrait of Emilie Floge at the age of 17, 1891

Portrait of a girl (1894) (14 x 9.6)
Vienna, Leopold Museum

Two Girls with Oleanders (1890-1892)_Wadsworth_Athenaeum_source_Sandstead_

Portrait of Emilia Flöge (c.1892) (private collection)

SECESSION.

"We want to declare war on sterile routine, immobile Byzantinism, all kinds of bad taste... Our Secession is not a struggle between modern artists and old masters, it is a struggle for the success of artists, not shopkeepers who call themselves artists, but at the same time their commercial interests hinder the flourishing of art.
This declaration of Hermann Bahr, playwright and theater critic, the spiritual father of the secessionists, can serve as a motto for the foundation in 1897 of the "Vienna Secession", one of the founders, president (until 1905) and spiritual leader of which was Klimt.

Artists of the younger generation no longer wanted to accept the tutelage that academism imposed on them; they demanded that their work be exhibited in a place free from "market forces". They wanted to end the cultural isolation of Vienna, invite artists from abroad to the city and make the work of the Secession members known in other countries. The program of the secessionists was significant not only in an "aesthetic" context, but also as a battle for the "right to create", for art as such; it was the basis for the battle between "great art" and "secondary genres", between "art for the rich" and "art for the poor" - in short, between "Venus" and "Nini".

The "Viennese Secession" played an important role in the development and dissemination of the Art Nouveau style as a force opposing official academism and bourgeois conservatism. This revolt of youth in search of liberation from the restrictions imposed on art by social, political and aesthetic conservatism, could develop through unprecedented success and culminate in a utopian project: the idea of ​​transforming society through art.

The opening in March 1898 of the exhibition building of the Vienna Secession was eagerly awaited. Here Klimt presented the composition "Theseus and the Minotaur", filled with rich symbolic meaning. The fig leaf was deliberately absent, and the artist was forced to calm the bashfulness of the censors by depicting a tree. The almost completely naked Theseus symbolized the struggle for the new in art; he is on the illuminated side, while the Minotaur, pierced by the sword of Theseus and timidly retreating into the shadows, personifies the broken power. Athena, emerging from the head of Zeus, watches the scene as the incarnation of a spirit born of reason, symbolizing divine wisdom.

Poster for the first exhibiton of the Secession in Austria (Theseus and Minotaur), 1898

There is no art without patronage, and patrons for the Secession were found primarily among the Jewish families of the Viennese bourgeoisie: Karl Wittgenstein, a steel magnate, Fritz Waerndorfer, a textile magnate, and the Knips and Lederer families, who supported precisely the art of the Modern. All of them were among those who commissioned paintings by Klimt, and he specialized in portraits of their wives.

Portrait of Sonia Knips (1898) (141 x 141) (Vienna, Belvedere Gallery)

The portrait of Sonya Knips was the first in this "gallery of wives". The Knips family was associated with the iron and steel industry and banking. Josef Hofmann designed their house, and Klimt painted a number of paintings, including in 1898 a portrait of Sonia in the center of the living room. The portrait combines several styles. It is well known that Klimt bowed to Makart's hyperbole, and the pose of Sonia Knips indicates the influence of the creator of the portrait of the famous Burgtheater actress Charlotte Voltaire as Messalina, which manifests itself, for example, in the asymmetrical position of the figure and in the accentuation of the silhouette. On the other hand, the interpretation of the dress, which is completely uncharacteristic for Klimt, resembles Whistler's light crate. The proud, reserved expression that Klimt gave to this society lady is typical of the artist; since then, it appears again and again in his fatal women.

Portrait of Serena Lederer, 1899

Portrait of Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann, 1900-01

Portrait of Marie Henneberg, 1901-02

Portrait of Hermine Gallia, 1904

Portrait of Margaret Stonborough-Wittgenstein, 1905

Portrait of Fritza Riedler, 1906

Portraits of ladies from society gave Klimt material independence. Thus, he was under no obligation to cater to public tastes or to see his carefully thought out and brilliantly executed works trampled into the dirt. He believed that his paintings could be redeemed for the same amount for which they were purchased.

The first features of his unique style appeared for the first time in the murals of the Grand Staircase of the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum, created in 1890-1891.

Ancient Greece (The Girl from Tanagra) - Mural painting in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, 1890

Mural painting in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna - Ancient Greece, 1890

Mural painting in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna - Egyptian Art, 1890

Mural painting in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna - Florentinian Renaissance, 1890

Mural painting in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna - Old Italian Art, 1890

In 1897, Klimt headed the Secession, an association of artists created in opposition to official art.

In 1900, he began the work proposed by the University of Vienna, and presented the painting of one of the plafonds - "Philosophy". It was then that the scandal erupted. On this ceiling, and then on the next - "Medicine" and "Jurisprudence" - the artist violated all the laws of color and composition, combining the incongruous. On his panel, a person appears as a slave of his nature, obsessed with pain, sex and death. Such a Klimt both shocked and fascinated.

He perceived Philosophy as a synthesis of his ideas about the world, and at the same time as a search for his own style. In the catalogue, he explained: “On the left is a group of figures: Beginning of Life, Maturity and Withering. On the right is a ball representing a mystery. An illuminated figure appears below: Knowledge.

Philosophy, 1899-1907. Destroyed in 1945

Men and women swim as if in a trance, not controlling the chosen direction. This was contrary to the ideas of science and knowledge that prevailed among the scientists of that time, who felt mortally offended. The work was commissioned by the University of Vienna.

However, the venerable Viennese professors rebelled against what they saw as an attack on tradition. They offered the artist to paint a picture that could express the triumph of light over darkness. Instead, Klimt presented them with an image of "the victory of darkness over everything."

Inspired by the works of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, and trying to find his own way to solve the metaphysical riddle of human existence, the artist turned their idea around to express the confusion of modern man. He did not hesitate to break the taboo on such topics as illness, physical decline, poverty - in all their ugliness; before that, reality was usually sublimated, presenting its most beneficial aspects.

Medicine (color copy of the Goddess Hygieia, the central figure of Medicine)
1900-07. 430x300
University of Vienna, fresco (destroyed)

The Allegory of Medicine, the second in a cycle of compositions for the University, again caused a scandal.
Klimt was condemned for portraying the helplessness of medicine and the power of disease.

The bodies, torn out by fate, are carried forward by the stream of life, in which, reconciled, all its stages, from birth to death, experience delight or pain. Such a vision borders on belittling the role of medicine; it emphasizes her powerlessness in comparison with the inescapable forces of Doom.

Gustav Klimt: 00644
Medicine, 1900-1907 Destroyed in 1945

A third job for the University, Jurisprudence, was met with similar hostility; viewers were shocked at the ugliness and nudity they believed they saw. Only one Franz von Wickhoff, professor of art history at the University of Vienna, defended Klimt in a legendary lecture entitled "What's ugly?". However, the scandal provoked by Klimt was discussed even in Parliament. The artist was accused of "pornography" and "excessive perversion".

Jurisprudence, 1903-1907 Destroyed in 1945

Instead of depicting the victory of light over darkness, as expected, Klimt reflected the human sense of insecurity in the world around him.

But the scandal ended with the fact that the artist, having borrowed money, returned the advance to the university, and kept the work for himself. There were so many orders that this allowed him to quickly repay the debt and in the future not to think about money at all.

He explained to the Viennese journalist Bertha Zuckerkandl: “The main reasons why I decided to ask for the paintings back to me are not caused by irritation at various attacks ... they could arise in myself. All the attacks of criticism hardly touched me at that time, and besides, it was impossible to take away the happiness that I experienced while working on these works. In general, I am very insensitive to attacks. But I become much more sensitive if I understand that someone who commissioned my work is unhappy with it. As in the case when paintings are covered up.

In the end, the government agreed to have the industrialist August Lederer buy Philosophy for a fraction of the original price. In 1907, Koloman Moser acquired Medicine and Jurisprudence. In an attempt to save the paintings during World War II, they were moved to Immendorf Castle in southern Austria; On May 5, 1945, the castle and everything that was stored in it were destroyed in a fire during the retreat of the SS troops.
Today, some idea of ​​the work that once caused such public outrage can be obtained from black and white photographs and a good color copy of the Goddess Hygieia, the central figure of Medicine. There is also a “colourful” comment by Ludwig Hevesy: “Let the eye pass to the two side paintings, Philosophy and Medicine: a magical symphony in green, an inspiring overture in red, a purely decorative play of colors on both. Jurisprudence is dominated by black and gold, unreal colors; and at the same time the line acquires meaning, and the form becomes monumental.

Klimt's work arose in the struggle between Eros and Thanatos, denying the basic laws of bourgeois society. In Philosophy, he depicted the triumph of darkness over light, contrary to conventional wisdom. In Medicine exposed her inability to cure the disease. Finally, in Jurisprudence, he painted a condemned man in the power of the three Furies: Truth, Justice and Law. They appear as Erinyes surrounded by snakes; as a punishment, the octopus squeezes the condemned man in his deadly embrace. With his images of sexual archetypes, Klimt wanted to shock a stiff society and “bring down the pillars” of morality.

Nothing has survived from this specially conceived group, except for some material evidence: photographs and copies from fragments of disappeared masterpieces. And also the bitter realization of the impotence of the artist, ridiculed by censorship. Klimt was never a professor at the Academy; but before those who mocked him, he held a mirror of "naked truth" - Nuda Veritas.

Austrian National Library in Vienna
Nuda Veritas (The Naked Truth).
1899

With the painting “Naked Truth”, Klimt continued to challenge the public. A naked red-haired woman holds a mirror of truth, above which is placed a quote from Schiller: “If you cannot please everyone with your deeds and your art, please few. To be liked by many is evil.
This true woman, two meters tall, expressive and provocative in her nakedness, embarrassed and teased the Viennese public.

In 1902, Klimt completed the Beethoven Frieze for the 14th Secession exhibition. The frieze was part of a monument to the composer and also contained a monumental painted sculpture by Max Klinger. The frieze was intended only for the exhibition and was made directly on the wall with unstable materials. After the exhibition, the frieze was preserved, although it was not exhibited again until 1986.

Beethoven Frieze, detail, Longing for Happiness 1, 1902
Gustav Klimt: Beethoven Frieze, The Suffering of Mankind

Beethoven frieze - The search for happiness is reflected in poetry (1902) (216 x 1378) (Vienna, Belvedere Gallery)
Yearning for happiness \ Chorus of heavenly angels \ This kiss to the whole world

Beethoven Frieze - Hostile Forces ( full view) (1902) (Vienna, Belvedere Gallery)

Beethoven Frieze, detal, The Hostile Forces - Lust, Gluttony, 1902

Klimt led a fairly simple lifestyle, worked in own house, devoted all his time to painting (including the Secession movement) and family, and was not on friendly terms with other artists. He was famous enough to receive many private commissions, and was able to choose from them what he was interested in. Like Rodin, Klimt used mythology and allegory to mask his deeply erotic nature, and his drawings often betray a purely sexual interest in women.

Klimt wrote very little about his vision of art or his methods. He did not keep a diary, and sent postcards to Flöge. In his Commentary on a Non-Existing Self-Portrait, he states: “I have never painted self-portraits. I am much less interested in myself as the subject of a picture than other people, primarily women ... There is nothing special about me. I am an artist who paints day after day from morning to night… Whoever wants to know something about me… should carefully consider my paintings.”

GOLDEN PERIOD.

The golden period" of Klimt's work was marked by a positive reaction from critics and is the most successful for Klimt. The name of the period comes from the gilding used in many of the artist's works, beginning with The Palace of Athena (1898) and Judith (1901), but his most famous work from this period is The Kiss (1907-1908).

Golden Knight (1903) (100 x 100) (Japan, Aichi Art Gallery)

LOVE FORMULA.

The painting "The Kiss" is probably the most chaste work of Klimt. The artist, many of whose canvases and drawings are filled with nude female figures depicted in very bold poses, and who more than once shocked his contemporaries with the spicy sensuality of his works, wrote love scene, not only not exposing, but diligently draping the heroes.

Kiss
Galerie Belvedere, Vienna
1908, 180x180

In The Kiss, he takes his favorite technique - three-dimensional modeling of open parts of the body against a flat ornamental background - to extremes: two heads, hands of male and female hands, a woman's feet - that's all that is open to us and, despite the bright richness of ornamentation, tirelessly catches our eye.

In his compositions (excluding, of course, portraits), Klimt rarely focuses on the face: for him, the pose, the gesture, is more important. So it is in The Kiss: a kneeling woman with her head thrown back to her shoulder and her eyes closed is the personification of humility and at the same time detachment, almost religious ecstasy.

We do not see the man's face, but in the resolute inclination of his head, in the trembling of sensitive fingers touching the face of his girlfriend, all the strength of the growing passion is felt. The picture is considered autobiographical: most researchers catch in the face of a woman a resemblance to Klimt's beloved Emilia Flöge. The painter's romance with Emilia Flöge, a famous fashion designer, lasted 27 years and, despite the many hobbies of the loving Klimt, became the main thing in his life.

Of course, it would be too straightforward to identify the male figure with the author of the picture, but, undoubtedly, the deeply personal experience of the artist feeds this work. The feminine principle is presented in The Kiss as soft and sacrificial, which is unusual for Klimt.

Both figures are hidden by decorative robes decorated with spirals, ovals, circles and other geometric shapes, so you can’t immediately distinguish the figures hidden under them. The same manner is characteristic of portraits of real women. There are many of them, Klimt's women. Charming faces, hairstyles, hands, jewelry, but the dresses and the background, as in a magical kaleidoscope, turn into a unique fairy-tale decoration. This is how he saw a person, his beauty, weaknesses, fears and passions. And where it was not, nature remained.

“Kiss” can be called a “formula of love”: many metaphors that have been stored in the memory of mankind for centuries have found in this picture a simple and precise plastic expression: the golden glow of happiness, the flowering earth, which has become a paradise for lovers, the Universe in which there is no one and nothing but these two, a moment as long as eternity ... With its chastity and sincerity, the picture immediately won the hearts of the discerning Viennese public.

She also conquered those who had previously reproached Klimt for "painful eroticism" and "mannership." The fate of The Kiss turned out happily: at the 1908 exhibition, the picture was a triumph. The exposition has not yet closed, and it has already been bought by the Modern Gallery (later the Austrian Belvedere Gallery), and since then we have not ceased to admire it.

Portrait of Emilie Flöge (1902) (181 x 84) Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum

Emilia Flöge was Klimt's great love and companion until the end of her days. She ran a fashion house, and he designed fabrics and dresses for her. His patterns look as if they were carved from the ornaments of his paintings.

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, 1907

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, painted by Gustav Klimt in 1907
The painting is also known as "Golden Adele" or " Austrian mona Lisa.” In 2006, American entrepreneur and president of New York's Solomon Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art, Ronald S. Lauder, purchased it for US$135,000,000.

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, Detail with an Art Nouveau frame of the artist Patrick Hagen
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, detail from Art Nouveau frame by artist Patrick Hagen

Images of strong female rulers (“Pallas Athena”, 1898, “Naked Truth”, 1899) and fatal beauties, suppressing and destroying a man (“Judith I”, 1901, “Salome” or “Judith II”, 1909), are much more often found in his works. In The Kiss, the male and female principles do not fight, but reconcile, merging into one
One of the most popular ideas of the fin de siecle (end of the century) was the dominance of women over men. The theme of "struggle of the sexes" swept the salons; artists and intellectuals also participated in the discussion.

Pallas Athena (1898) (75 x 75)
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum

Pallas Athena was the first image in his gallery of "superwomen": with her armor and weapons, Athena is sure of victory, she subdues a man, and possibly the entire male sex. Some of the elements that appear in this painting will be fundamental in the further work of Klimt: for example, the use of gold and the transformation of the body into an ornament, and the ornament into a body. Klimt continued to work with the outer form, in contrast to the younger generation of Expressionists who sought immediate penetration into the soul. Klimt's visual language took both male and female symbols from the world of Freudian dreams. Sensual, eroticized ornament reflects one of the sides of Klimt's ideas about the world.

Judith 1 (1901) (84 x 42)
Vienna, Belvedere Gallery

Judith 1 (1901) (84 x 42) (Vienna, Belvedere Gallery)_fragment

Judith 2 (1909) (Venice, Gallery of Modern Art)

Judith I and, eight years later, Judith II are the next incarnations of Klimt's femme fatale archetype. His Judith is not a biblical heroine, but rather a Viennese contemporary of his, as evidenced by her fashionable, perhaps expensive neckpiece. According to the publications of Berta Zuckerkandl, Klimt created the vamp type long before Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, who personified him, appeared on the silver screen. Proud and free, but at the same time mysterious and charming, the femme fatale values ​​herself higher than the male spectator.

Hope 1 (1903)
Ottawa, National Museum

Hope II, 1907-08

Three Ages of a Woman (1905) (National Gallery of Modern Art)

Tree of Life (Stoclet Frieze)
MAK, Austrian Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna
1905-09

Waiting / Tree of Life / Accomplishment
MAK - Austrian Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna
1905-09

Stoclet Frieze - The Embrace, 1909

Virgin (1912-1913)
Prague, National museum

Portrait of Eugenia Primavesi (c.1912) (149.9 x 110.5) (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Most of Gustav Klimt's paintings look like an intricate mosaic or collage… as if the artist had poured colored pieces of paper, ribbons, shreds, fragments of old vases, knitted circles and squares onto the table, and began to mix them up…. but with an ingenious hand... And he suddenly stopped.. the fragments of the mosaic froze somehow docked with each other... and some beautiful woman suddenly loomed out of them...
In no other work did the artist bring female sexuality to such hypertrophy - this is self-absorbed lust.

Girlfriends (1916-1917) (99 x 99) (the painting was in the National Museum of Prague, died in a fire in 1945)

Gustav Klimt: Love

Goldfish (1901-1902)
(Vienna, private collection)

Klimt did not allow himself to be intimidated by harsh criticism and continued to go his own way. His only response to the militant opposition was the picture, which was first called My Critics, and after the exhibition - Goldfish. Public anger has reached its climax: the beautiful, naughty nymph in the foreground has put her butt on display for all to see! Marine figures lure the viewer into the world of sexual fantasies and associations, comparable to the world of Freud's symbols. This world has already been glimpsed in the Current and the Nymphs (Silverfish) and will be rediscovered a few years later in the paintings Water Serpents I and Water Serpents II. Art Nouveau liked to depict the underwater kingdom, where dark and light algae grow on venus mollusks or a delicate tropical coral body shimmers in the center of a bivalve shell. The meaning of the symbols brings us back to their undoubted prototype - the woman. In these underwater dreams, algae become hair growing on the head and pubis. They follow the flow in an undulating movement, so characteristic of Art Nouveau. With languid resistance, they yield to the embrace of the sea element, just as Danae is open to Zeus, penetrating into her in the form of golden rain.

Gustav Klimt: 1895 Music I

Schubert at the Piano, 1899
Gustav Klimt: Schubert at the piano

The picture with Schubert shows the composer at home, surrounded by music, which is the highest aesthetic point of safety and a correct way of life. The stage is illuminated by the warm light of the candelabra, which softens the outlines of the figures so that they dissolve into festive harmony... Klimt uses the technique of the Impressionists to place his historical reconstruction in an atmosphere of nostalgic remembrance. He presents us with a sweet dream, bright but incorporeal - a dream of innocent, pleasurable art in the service of a carefree society.

Biography

Childhood and education

Born in the Vienna suburb of Baumgarten on July 14 in the family of the artist-engraver and jeweler Ernest Klimt. Gustav was the second of seven children - three boys and four girls. Klimt's father was a native of Bohemia and a gold engraver, his mother, Anna Klimt, nee Finster, tried, but could not become a musician. Klimt spent most of his childhood in poverty, as the economic situation in the country was difficult, and his parents did not have a permanent job. All three sons of Ernest Klimt became artists.

Vienna Secession

"Golden Age"

The "golden period" of Klimt's work was marked by a positive reaction from critics and is the most successful for Klimt. The name of the period comes from the gilding used in many of the artist's works, beginning with " Palace of Athens" () And " Judith" (), but his most famous work of this period is " Kiss» (-). The golden background and symbolism, close to Byzantine, date back to the mosaics of Venice and Ravenna, seen by Klimt during a trip to Italy. At the same time, he became interested in decorative art in the Art Nouveau style. In 1904, he and a group of artists received an order for the decoration of the Stoclet Palace, owned by a Belgian industrialist and which became one of famous monuments Art Nouveau . Klimt owns the details of the decorations of the dining room, which he himself attributed to his best decorative works. Between 1909 and 1909, Klimt completed five portraits of women dressed in furs.

Klimt led a rather simple life, worked in his own house, devoted all his time to painting (including the Secession movement) and family, and was not on friendly terms with other artists. He was famous enough to receive many private commissions, and was able to choose from them what he was interested in. Like Rodin, Klimt used mythology and allegory to mask his deeply erotic nature, and his drawings often betray a purely sexual interest in women. As a rule, his models agreed to pose in any arbitrarily erotic positions; many of them were prostitutes.

Klimt wrote very little about his vision of art or his methods. He did not keep a diary, and sent postcards to Flöge. In his Commentary on a Non-Existing Self-Portrait, he states: “I have never painted self-portraits. I am much less interested in myself as the subject of a picture than other people, especially women ... There is nothing special about me. I am an artist who paints day after day from morning to night… Anyone who wants to know anything about me… should carefully consider my paintings.” .

Personal life

Gustav Klimt never married, but he had numerous affairs. Three to forty illegitimate children are attributed to him.

In his longest and most intimate relationship with a woman, sex may have been absent altogether, according to biographers.

Klimt met Emilia Fluge in the early 1890s when her sister Helen married Ernst, the artist's brother. After the death of Ernst, Helen returned to her parents' house with her daughter, whose guardian Gustav was appointed.

In 1904, the three Fluge sisters founded a fashion house and became the leading couturiers in Vienna. Adapting Parisian fashions to local tastes and creating their own designs, the sisters dressed Austria's most elegant - and wealthy - women. Klimt contributed to Fluge's models and helped decorate the demonstration room.

Gradually, Emilia and Gustav became inseparable - at least in business. Many biographers and experts doubt that they had an affair. Emilia was proud of her modernity, in her personal life no one had an order for her, and Klimt, it seems, treated her as an equal person.

They were so close that last words stroke-stricken Klimt were: "Send for Emilia."

Last years

In 2009, the musical "Gustav Klimt" premiered in Austria, in which the role of Klimt was played by Andre Bauer, and Emilia Flöge was played by Sabine Nybersch. From September 1 to October 7, 2012 the Vienna premiere of the musical will take place.

Embrace, Three Ages of Woman, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, Water Snakes I, Water Snakes II, Danaë

Gallery

Literature

• Gustav Klimt, 1862-1918 [Album]. Auth. text by J. Nere; Translation from English. E. Kalmykova - Cologne: Taschen, Art-Spring, 2000
• Gustav Klimt [Album]. Auth. text by M.Kini - Moscow: White City, 1998
• Lundy E. "The Secret Lives of Great Artists", M. 2011, ISBN 978-5-98697-228-2. pp.200-206

Notes

see also

Links

Gustav Klimt - the first sign of the "Holy Spring"

Gustav Klimt is one of the founding fathers of the avant-garde, a bold and original artist who left a rich artistic heritage.

All his life, Klimt fought for painters to abandon the academicism of the old school and set off on a journey to new forms, new ideas and new solutions. His painting "Naked Truth" showed a woman holding a mirror. At the bottom of the canvas, the artist placed a quote from Schiller, which could probably serve as Klimt's life credo: “If you cannot please everyone with your deeds and your art, please few. To be liked by many is evil.

Klimt was born on July 14, 1862 in a suburb of Vienna called Baumgarten. The future painter grew up in a very creative atmosphere: his father was a gold engraver (perhaps it was childhood impressions that so influenced the color preferences of the grown Klimt, because he is known for his attachment to golden, “autumn” shades), and his mother was fond of music and even wanted to become professional musician, but, unfortunately, her dreams never came true. However, they did not have a permanent job, and the family lived in poverty.

All the sons of Klimts were drawn to art and became artists. Ernst and Gustav Klimt entered the arts and crafts school at the Austrian Museum of Art and Industry. Together with their friend Franz Match, they formed a kind of "painting trio" and worked together for some time. In his early works, Klimt still adhered to the classical style. Artists decorated many theaters with frescoes - for example, in Reichenberg, Rijeka. In 1885, they worked on the design of the Vienna building "Burgtheater" and the Kunsthistorisches Museum. They also carried out work to decorate the Sturani Palace in Vienna and painted the ceiling of the Mineral Water Pavilion in Karlsbad.

All frescoes are simply magnificent and are made in the best traditions of neoclassicism and imitation of ancient art: this applies to both plots and execution.

After several joint projects, the three young artists have accumulated enough funds to rent a studio. Everything indicated that a bright future awaited them - public recognition, new orders, growing material well-being. However, a tragedy happened - in 1892 both Gustav's father and his brother Ernst passed away. The artist took upon himself all the cares of his brother's wife and daughter. At the same time, Klimt began a close friendship with Emil Flege, the sister of his sister-in-law. This friendship was very close and lasted until the end of his life: it was Emilia Flege that was captured in Klimt's painting "The Kiss". Admirers of Klimt's work are still arguing about whether there was only friendship between the artist and Emilia, or something more. In any case, they carried this feeling throughout their lives.

Emilia was also a creative person - together with her two sisters, she organized the Fashion House, which was very popular with Viennese society ladies. Klimt actively participated in the work of the House, inventing colors and designs for dresses.

For several years, Klimt still worked with his friend, adhering to the same principles. In 1898, Gustav even received from the hands of Emperor Franz Joseph I the Golden Order of Merit for his contribution to art.

The turning point occurred during the joint work of friends on the design of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. At this point, it just started to take shape. unique style Klimt, and therefore former like-minded people began to work on different pictures- to write, as before, together they could no longer write one work. So their creative union broke up.

In 1897, an event occurred that became milestone not only in the work of Klimt, but also in the work of many of his contemporaries. The artist founded the modernist society "Secession" on the model of the Berlin "Secession", which marked his break with the "old school" - an act largely rebellious, given that by that time he already had something to lose: after all, his work in classical style were rated very highly by the public, he received various awards, gained universal recognition. Klimt, being a very smart person, could not but understand that the path of an innovator is very, very thorny. But he did not change himself, following the path that inspiration suggested to him.

In 1898, the Secession building was erected, above the entrance to which was written: "An era has its own art, art has its own freedom." There were exhibitions of artists - members of the society. Among them were Kokoschka, Hoffmann, Olbrich and many others.

The Secession began publishing the magazine Ver sacrum, Sacred Spring. The journal published the works of members of the society. However, not only artists, but also literary figures took part in the creation of the publication - for example, the famous symbolist poet Rilke.

The final break with non-commercial orders came from Klimt at the moment when he was invited to paint the Great Hall of the University of Vienna. The artist had to complete three paintings that would embody Medicine, Philosophy and Jurisprudence in allegorical form. He created the first in 1900, the rest - by 1903. When Klimt presented Philosophy, a scandal erupted. University professors wrote an indignant letter in which they demanded to withdraw the order from Klimt, accused his painting of both frank eroticism and shamelessness, lack of meaning and mockery of science. After the pundits saw the other two pictures, discontent reached its limit. Klimt did not enter into polemics with them, simply taking the paintings for himself and returning the advance to the customers. Unfortunately, during the Second World War, priceless works of art were lost.

Klimt's only response to the indignation of the professors was a painting, first called "To My Critics", and then renamed "Goldfish". Comments are unnecessary here, it is enough just to see it.

Klimt's style is truly something unprecedented, its formation was completed around 1903, which marked the beginning of the famous "golden period" in the artist's work. It would be wrong to say that Klimt completely departed from the classical canons, rather, he managed to combine or, rather, “fuse” (given Klimt’s love for golden hues) the incompatible: a subtle, detailed drawing of faces and almost complete abstraction against the background. The author, creating his amazing ornaments, drew inspiration from Byzantine mosaics(he met them during his trip to Italy, in Ravenna), in oriental painting and in the beauty of nature. It is worth paying attention to the deliberate "plane" of the image, as well as a kind of "mosaic" angle of view: the characters are written the way they see each other, and not the way they should have been written according to the canons of classical proportions.

In the “golden” period, Klimt created, perhaps, his best works: “The Tree of Life” (which is essentially a triptych from the paintings “Expectation, “Tree of Life” and “Rapture”, this is Klimt’s last monumental work, in which we see the legendary The tree of the world, on the branch of which a black raven sits, is the eternal union of life and death) and, of course, the “Kiss” (on which Klimt depicted himself with his girlfriend Emilia Flege). We see here not only the beauty of the form, but also the wealth of ideas embodied in this form, Klimt the symbolist, who opened the door to the golden abyss of the unconscious. Elements of ornaments also have a symbolic meaning: squares and triangles are signs of the masculine principle, circles are feminine, spirals are the flow of life, being itself.

We cannot forget that Klimt was a contemporary of Freud, and Freudian ideas, as it turned out, are quite comfortable among the gold leaf. Perhaps that is why the center of the Klimt universe is a woman. And she appears in his work in different incarnations - this is a woman-symbol, a woman-the Universe, a woman-idea, a woman-mystery and a woman-a clue to this mystery, a certain "archetype" behind which many and many generations stand, as well as wisdom and experience accumulated by these generations. This is how a woman appears, for example, in the paintings “Water Snakes” and “Danae”.

But there is another heroine of Klimt's work - this is a beautiful and sensual, but quite real and earthly woman: a woman is a contemporary, a woman is a neighbor. It is emotional, character is visible in it, it is clearly drawn - both literally and figuratively. It is not surprising that such are the ladies from the famous portraits of Klimt, forever imprinted in history thanks to the skill of the artist. The most famous, of course, are the 4 portraits of Adele Bloch-Bauer ("Judith" I and II, "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer" I and II). The relationship between Klimt and Adele is shrouded in a veil of secrecy. By official version the artist was simply a frequent guest of the salon, which Adele kept, and was friends with the Bloch-Bauer millionaires, but there is another one - about the long-term connection between the artist and Adele. Some even argue that supposedly Bloch-Bauer, the deceived husband, conceived a truly sophisticated revenge: he decided to separate the lovers, making them fed up with each other's company. He paid Klimt an astronomical sum and ordered a painting of incredible complexity - "Golden Adele", "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer" -I, believing that during the creation of the work, the artist and the model would get pretty tired of each other. Klimt painted this canvas for 4 years, made more than 100 sketches. Adele began to get sick often, and they were forced to take long breaks between sessions. The picture turned out to be truly majestic - the quintessence of gold in the background, fused with the refined, dark languor of Adele in the foreground. It should be noted the frame into which the canvas is inserted. The uniqueness of the bulk of Klimt's works lies in the fact that at first they made a frame for them, and only then the artist painted the canvas.

This painting has an unusual fate - it passed from owner to owner, during the Second World War it mysteriously disappeared and seemed lost forever, but suddenly appeared in a private collection, it was considered a symbol of Austria for many years and was taken to the USA to the only heiress of the Bloch family -Bauers, almost ninety-year-old Maria, Adele's niece - according to the instructions of a mysterious will found in Switzerland. The story is no worse than a detective story, but reality is sometimes more curious than any fiction.

Three other portraits of Adele are slightly less known, but deserve no less attention. The very first of them was "Judith" -I - amazing picture where miraculously intertwined two female images- the legendary beauty from ancient stories and contemporary artist, charismatic, relaxed and fatal. They are so merged that the picture seems to be dual, and this is its charm. A stately posture, the look of an ancient queen - and at the same time a fashionable decoration in the Art Nouveau style around the neck.

Judith II became a real scandal. Many people call this painting “Salome”, apparently seeing the similarity of the plots in the severed head, although, frankly, the symbolism of these two images suggests absolutely the opposite. However, the heroine of the picture, who has more abstract features, in which the features of Adele are not immediately guessed, does not really look like a pure and proud Judith, a deliberately positive character. There is too much dark, secret, perhaps even vicious and animal in it - and such an interpretation of the image seemed insanely offensive to critics.

"Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer"-II refers to the late period in the work of Klimt, when he had already moved away from his trademark gold, carried away by experiments with color, as well as oriental culture - ornaments, often of a symbolic nature, stylization of the background as a mosaic or oriental carpet. This period lasted approximately 6-7 years, until the death of the artist in 1918. Adele Bloch-Bauer in this picture is standing in a garden in a hat and seems very young. It is impossible to look away from her piercing gaze.

It should be noted that a short transitional stage between the golden period and the ornamental period was the period of passion for Klimt French painters- Lautrec, Gauguin, Van Gogh and others. This was the reason for the creation of several Parisian-style refined and charming works, for example, the paintings "Lady in a Hat and Boa" and "Lady in a Black Hat".

In recent years, Klimt has created works in which he largely departs from the previous canons of his work. There are many colors in them, often disturbing, the feeling of feverish flashes does not leave, which seem to be the result of the fear of not doing it, not being in time. Most of the works have oriental backgrounds. Mostly these are portraits of the author's contemporaries.

It should be noted that landscapes stand apart in Klimt's work. Mostly these were views of Lake Attersee, where the artist traveled almost every summer. They are found in both his early and late works. We can see in the landscapes the evolution of Klimt's entire work, although for some reason they did not become as famous as his other works. Nevertheless, the landscapes, which depict mostly the same places, perfectly convey the transforming author's vision: at first they are closer to the classical canons, but then we see more and more of the author's vision in them, they are filled with autumn colors in the golden period and mosaic variegation at a later stage of creativity.

At the end of his life, Klimt was still inseparable from Emilie Flege, his faithful friend and colleague. The artist died on February 6, 1918 in Vienna. The cause of death was pneumonia, which developed against the background of a stroke. His last words were: "Send for Emilia ..."

Then there were fierce disputes over the inheritance, the grief of inconsolable lovers, the transportation of the author's works from gallery to gallery and even from country to country. But all this is already indifferent, because Gustav managed the main thing - to remain himself and make him fall in love with his work, no matter how "inconvenient" it was for critics and contemporaries. He wanted to please only a few, but a century later, millions of people admire him.

The text was prepared by M. Prokopenya