This month’s featured artist is Gustav Klimt. His work lines up nicely with this month’s training report on pushing your ideas. Klimt certainly wasn’t timid with conveying his ideas. He would pick a direction with each artwork and really drive it home. Of course, this is a polarizing approach and his work won’t be for everyone. But the ideas are strong.
He was a dynamic artist, everything from abstract and symbolism to realistic portraits and impressionist landscapes. Most people know him for his symbolist work, like The Kiss.
Here’s an example of his beautiful realism. This wide range in style reminds me of Pablo Picasso, who started out in the footsteps of the old masters before venturing into his abstract work.
Klimt often blended distinct styles together. His work below is a mix of symbolism, abstract, and realism. Not an easy thing to get away with.
Perhaps my favorite of Klimt’s work is his quiet seascape below. It’s amazing what you can do with the right colors in the right spots. Those dabs of turquoise are stunning!
You can see some of his other paintings here:
Here are some articles about his life and work:
Gotham Mag – Gustav Klimt Immersive Art Exhibit
Met Museum – Gustav Klimt Works
Timeout – Immersive Night with Gustav Klimt
NY Times – The Story Behind ‘Woman in Gold’: Nazi Art Thieves and One Painting’s Return
Thank you Dan for drawing to our attention the landscapes and seascapes of Klimt. I was not aware of them because of the fame of his gold pictures.
I recommend the movie :”Woman in Gold” about the story of the painting with the same name.
forgot to paste the link to the movie
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2404425/
The book is excellent reading!
Très beau film, je l’ai vu trois fois.
Louise
Klimpt uses a lot of gold in his paintings which gives special brilliance, and is fun to explore and try. He used to summer on Lake Attersee, where our daughter in law lives, so we have visited the fine museum there where some of his work is displayed. Due to his debached life style, acceptance of him as a person is mixed, though his art is undeniably worthy of admiration.
What a wonderful exciting artist. I had heard the name but did not know how good he was.
I admire Klimpt’s work. It is inspiring and diverse. And I love his use of gold in his paintings. Thank you for bringing old masters alive for us. Jean