“The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt

Klimt’s signature piece from the Gold period and one of the world’s most recognizable artworks, The Kiss (1907-1908), was an incredibly valuable piece even before it reached the astronomical prices of late-twentieth century auctions. Intricately worked with gold leaf, the painting is a departure from the artist’s usual taste for the female form, and celebrates art for art’s sake and love for the sake of love. A more delicate, bombastic, and glorious triumph of form and style is difficult to find from any artist in any period. A starkly linear work, Klimt rejoices in a playful reproduction of high-Byzantine ornamental and devotional art, as nature and human forms are entwined through the embrace, in this defining work of the Art Nouveau period. This ‘new art’ promoted by Klimt and his contemporaries proposed an elegant and ornamental style reflecting an affection for contemporary architecture, furniture, jewelry and interior design in the hope of achieving a ‘total’ work of art. This meditation on the relationship between forms of artistic expression was characterized by highly stylized plants reflecting the increasing standardization of man-made materials.