Gustav Klimt is a famous Austrian artist, a true representative of the Art Nouveau era. His works are filled with sophisticated symbolism and decorative effects. The main goal of his work is to create a special world living according to the laws of beauty.
Gustav Klimt began his creative activity as a decorator, and it was not for nothing that his sphere of interests, in addition to various types of easel painting, included antique ceramics, mosaics and frescoes. Passion for applied art and mosaics contributed to the formation of the original style of Klimt's paintings, thanks to which they cannot be confused with the works of other artists.
Stylistic features of Klimt's works
Most of Klimt's canvases are decoratively stylized, their backgrounds and characters' rich clothes are filled with whimsical ornamentation. As a rule, in the works of the artist there is no sense of the depth of space. His favorite technique is volumetric modeling of bodies on a flat ornamental background.
Klimt's paintings are imbued with deep eroticism, their main character, in most cases, is a beautiful and seductive woman. Even if a man is present next to her, his face is often hidden or trimmed.
The originality of Klimt's work was most vividly manifested in the works of the so-called "golden period", which got its name due to the active introduction of gilding into the color scheme, and because this time was the highest flowering of the artist's work.
The most famous works of the artist
The most famous work of Klimt was the painting "The Kiss" made in the style of Byzantine mosaics. In it, he showed the figures of a man and a woman merged in an embrace, enveloped in gold clothes. Due to the abundance of golden color, the figures of lovers seem to radiate radiance. The artist himself and his beloved Emilia Flege served as models for the painting.
The images of femme fatale traditional for Klimt can be seen in works on biblical subjects. One of them - "Judith", where the artist portrayed not a noble and chaste savior of his people, but an insidious temptress, using her charms to subdue a man and behead him. Judith's robes, richly decorated with exquisite decorative patterns, merged with the ornaments of the murals.
The abundance of ornamentation is also characteristic of the painting "Salome". In the image of a beautiful Jewish princess, the artist managed to embody the enchanting energy of evil. Like a bird of prey clinging to its prey, Salome holds in his hands the severed head of John the Baptist. The face expressing gloomy anger, the sharp broken lines of the drawing, the decorative sophistication of the attire - all this repels the soul, but attracts the eye.
Klimt's work is fully a reflection of the Art Nouveau style. It is filled with symbolism and complex allegorical images, unusual decorative effects and a constant desire for experimentation. The artist tirelessly strove to affirm beauty at a time when the beginning industrial era was mercilessly destroying it.
