Behind The Brush: Gustav Klimt's The Kiss (Lovers)
The Kiss (Lovers) was painted by Klimt sometime between 1907-08 during a time scholars dubbed his "Golden Period."
The Kiss, 1907-08, www.gustav-klimt.org
Many of Klimt's works are generally themed with love, intimacy and even sexuality. This painting is a great example of love and intimacy. The painting is of a couple who are beautifully and romantically intertwined with one another. His hands are placed on her face and she has one of her hands on his neck. The man is laying a kiss upon his lover's cheek. You can't see the man's face, he is too focused on his loved-one. However, the woman's face is visible with her head tilted and ready for his kiss.
The man is wearing a yellow, geometric robe and crown made of vines. The woman is wearing a dress with a floral pattern and a flower crown. Their attire is influenced by Art-Nouveau. They are placed on the on the edge of a flowery meadow.
The Kiss is an oil-on-canvas painting with hints of gold leaf, silver and platinum. It is believed that the woman who modeled for this work was his dear friend Emilie Flöge but no one has been able to prove it. Others think it is Red Hilda, the same model he used for a few of his other paintings.
It's been suggested that Klimt was trying to depict the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. In his painting, the lovers are situated at the edge of a meadow. She seems kind of translucent and what lies below her feet is left for imagination. In Orpheus and Eurydice's story, there is a part where Orpheus turns around to touch Eurydice and loses her forever. Others believe that Klimt was depicting Apollo kissing Daphne. I don't know if he was trying to tell a specific story or just wanted to capture love in general. Whatever it may be, I think he felt he had to paint something non-controversial. I'm saying this because this painting was done after he caused a scandal with a series he did just beforehand. Klimt did a series of ceiling paintings (the Vienna Ceiling series) for the University of Vienna which were highly criticized and caused an uproar for being pornographic and perverted. Klimt wrote "If you can not please everyone with your art, please a few." I think this painting was meant to suppress some of the drama the Vienna Ceiling series caused.
It was exhibited in 1908 in Vienna at the Kunstschau building. Although it was never finished, it was still bought by the Austrian government and it is now residing in the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere museum in Vienna.
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