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The Kiss (Lovers)

This kiss of the whole world! At the climax and culmination of his “Golden Phase,” Gustav Klimt painted his most iconic picture: a pair of lovers on a flower-strewn meadow. The man is standing, his features are angular and the ornamentation on his garments rectangular. Her eyes closed, the woman has sunk to her knees before him. The floral patterns on her dress can be seen as feminine symbols. Klimt surrounds the pair in a golden gloriole thereby setting them apart from reality. His Kiss thus becomes a timeless, universal symbol of love. Combining the naturalistic depiction of faces and hands with ornamental patterns on a golden ground, this work gleams like a precious jewel....
1908 (finished 1909)
Figures: gold leaf, gold paint (gold powder dispersed in binder), silver, platinum, plumb, oil on primed canvas (zinc paint). – Background: Composition gold (brass), glazed
180.0 x 180.0cm
912
Image © Belvedere, Vienna, 2023

Where you'll find this

Upper Belvedere
Permanent collection

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