Gustav Klimt (1862–1918), *The Kiss* (1908)

color lithograph, heavyweight vellum paper;
44 x 30 cm (composition), 70 x 50 cm (sheet);
signed on the plate below the composition, lower right: “Gustav Klimt,” and numbered in pencil “52/200.”

Dry stamp of the publisher on the lower left: “trec, Edizioni Pregiate” and a “verification of authenticity” hologram on the reverse.
Original certificate.

*The Kiss* was painted in oil on canvas, measuring 180x180 cm. The artist also used gold leaf in the creation of the work. The painting depicts a couple lost in a loving embrace on the slope of a flower-filled meadow. The lovers, dressed in golden robes, are captured in a pose suggesting an impending kiss.

At first glance, the painting appears as a shimmering, golden patch of color. Only after a moment does a woman’s face, swooning with delight, emerge in the upper part of the painting; her bare arm protrudes from a multicolored, form-fitting dress, and her delicate hand rests on the man’s neck. The woman, kneeling on a flowery background, is embraced by a burly, broad-shouldered dark-haired man with a dark complexion. Only the profile of his face is visible. He holds his partner’s head with his hands to kiss her cheek. The lovers are enveloped in their robes, stylized with geometric patterns. Her yellow dress is adorned with clusters of red and navy blue flowers shaped like circles, a symbol of femininity. His golden cloak features dark brown and white angular rectangles outlined in bronze. The man’s figure seems to protect and shield the woman. She embodies soft delicacy, yet she is an equal partner. Neither figure dominates the other.

The “Golden Period” during which the work was created was a time of Klimt’s fascination with gold in his painting. Many of the artist’s paintings from this period feature rich ornamentation made of pure gold leaf. The popularity of *The Kiss* likely stems in part from the use of this technique. On the one hand, gold in art evokes primarily mystical and religious associations; on the other, it possesses real value associated with a high price. During this period, the artist worked on an international scale and rose to the ranks of Europe’s most expensive portrait painters.

In 1908, it was purchased by the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere in Vienna and remains in its collection to this day.

Gustav Klimt—Austrian painter and printmaker, Symbolist. One of the most prominent representatives of Art Nouveau and a figure of Viennese modernism. Beginning around 1890, Klimt increasingly developed his unique, expressionist style, distinguished by characteristic, flat ornaments. In 1890, he left the Künstlerhaus artists’ association and, together with other artists, founded the Vienna Secession. The association marked a secession—that is, a departure from and separation from the prevailing norms, rules, and traditions in art. In 1897, Gustav Klimt suddenly found himself in the spotlight. As president of the Association of Austrian Artists, he was a leading figure among the so-called Secessionists, who sought to renew art. The Secession Pavilion on Vienna’s Karlplatz became the exhibition hall of the new movement. This was a period of the greatest artistic scandals to date, which reached their peak in 1900 when Gustav Klimt completed his paintings depicting allegories of the faculties of the University of Vienna. A protest letter regarding the allegorical paintings of the faculties, painted by Klimt for the University of Vienna, stated: “We are not fighting against nudity or against free art, but against ugly art.” At the World’s Fair in Paris, Klimt received the Grand Prix for his painting “Philosophy” from the series of allegorical paintings of the faculties. From that moment on, Gustav Klimt enjoyed fame throughout Europe.