Vienna Travel Break

During the end of the nineteenth century, artists started to use metallic paints. This movement was known as Art Nouveau. In Germany and Austria this movement was better known as Jugendstil. In Vienna, Austria, one artist that is particularly known for this type of artwork is Gustav Klimt. This past week when we were in Vienna we saw replicas of his artwork everywhere we went. He is famous for the painting The Kiss, which shows great emotion with a mixture of realism and modernism. I was upset that I did not get to see this painting in person, but it is still one of my favorites. 

The facial expressions and feet of the woman and man who embrace are very real to me. Their emotions are seen vividly as their eyes are tightly shut and the hands wrap around each other's faces. The mixture between the two and three dimensional work is intrinsically seen in this piece. This could quite possibly be a symbolic underlying statement of the temper and frustration that Klimt felt with the political situation in Austria at the time. The colors in the picture trickle down like a metallic mosaic, in different intricate gold geometric shapes. Ironically, the bright abyss of colors could represent the words that he felt that could only be expressed through an embrace of a lover's kiss. I really enjoy this painting and the style that Klimt uses in all his paintings.