Four of Gustav Klimt’s Best Paintings
An enticing glimpse into the Austrian artist
Gustav Klimt’s combination of intense compositions and abstract motifs gives his paintings a unique allure.
His art is full of linear constructions and Art Nouveau curves — those whiplash ribbons that flex in spontaneous places, idealised from natural forms such as plant stems and flower petals.
With Klimt, circles and squares assemble into patterns, pushing up against bulbous forms to delineate the shapes of human figures.
Often drawing on myth and biblical tales, Klimt’s re-evaluation of these traditional themes in his serpentine contours resulted in some of the most captivating artworks of the 20th century.
Here I look at four of his best.
Life and Death (1910–15)
This distinctive image, painted by Klimt in 1915, expresses the breach between life and death in all its mystifying anxieties.
On the right are a group of sleeping figures, representing the universal desire for rest and peace, shown in various stages of Life from infancy to old age…
