An artist of interest

Hi you! Today I will write about Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art.  Klimt's primary subject was the female body, and his works are marked by a frank eroticism. 

His most outstanding works were developed in Klimt's 'Golden Phase'  which was characterized by a positive critical reaction and financial success. Many of his paintings from this period included gold leaf.

His best known works are:

• Danaë, 1907

• Judith and the Head of Holofernes, 1901

• Adele Bloch-Bauer I 1907

• The Kiss 1907-08

• The Three Ages of Woman 1905 

This last one is my favorite, because the work features three women in varying stages of age, symbolizing the cycle of life. The three women are central on the canvas and are the focal point of the work. The background has a lack of depth, making it look very two dimensional. The colors are neutral and create a restful effect.

Klimt's common use of colorful motifs is also evident in this work. There are two vertical auras that the women are in. The two younger women are in a blue aura that has a fluid pattern of cool colors. The old woman is in an aura by herself, and it is filled with a less fluid pattern with more distinct separations in the design. The colors of this aura are warm, earthy tones that contrast with the cool colors of the other aura. The woman and the auras overlap slightly. The leg of the young woman goes behind the left aura and the old woman's head comes in front of the right aura.