Art Nouveau

Gustav Klimt¹s paintings are not merely a reflection of his own personal thoughts and perspectives but rather the ideas of society. Klimt challenged these views and morals that Viennese culture upheld, and in that sense he was modern. In 1899 Klimt was commissioned to three designs for the Great Hall of the University of Vienna. This project was a battle that Klimt fought in order to prove himself as a modern artist independent from the ways of the past. Academics created the theme of what they hoped Klimt would follow, and the theme was " the triumph of light over darkness". One of the pictures Klimt painted was Philosophy. Philosophy was Klimt¹s view of the world, and his search for his own style. He explained it as "On the left a group of figures: the beginning of life, fruition, decay. On the right, the globe as mystery. Emerging below, a figure of light: knowledge." Critics in Paris gave this painting good reviews in contrast to what was going to come. In Vienna the painting was the subject of great controversy. The second of the University paintings was the allegory of Medicine, which also caused a scandal. It depicted the impotence of medicine as a healing force. The ineffectiveness and weakness of medicine was compared to the uncontrollable powers of destiny. The painting has bodies ripped away by the force that is destiny, and being taken forwards by the stream of life, where all levels of life come together. Another painting that is perhaps the best known of Klimt¹s works is the Kiss. It was representative of his "golden period", and it was also the symbol of the Secession. The Kiss shows the emergence of a man and a woman embracing, and a union between the two sexes. Until this point Klimts depictions of males and females together had been in contrast, yet in this painting there is a compromise. The painting leaves the audience with a series of unanswered questions. It is difficult to decipher the embrace in this painting. It appears as though the man is taking the aggressive role and the woman is giving into him. In contrast it can also be seen that the woman is resisting the kiss as her hands are clenched and her feet are tightly wrapped around a rock. The confusion that Klimt creates between the man and the woman in the Kiss represents the ambivalence in the relationship between man and woman.

Femmes Fatales