By Syrian artist Tammam Azzam
"I want to discuss how the whole world could be interested in art and on the other hand two hundred people are killed every day in Syria. Goya created a work to immortalize [the] killing of hundreds of innocent Spanish citizens on May 3, 1808. How many May 3rds do we have in Syria today?"
The unique combination of viral artwork and political protest prompted Jonathan Jones at The Guardian to write, "The painting whose golden ghost he has made to materialise on a ruinous facade is a passionate plea for universal love."
The theme of a pair of lovers, united through a kiss, was one that occupied Klimt throughout his career. Variations on this theme can be found early on in his works. Klimt's Beethoven Frieze (1902), reflecting his increased emphasis on ornamentation and the use of gold leaf, represented an important artistic precursor to his most famous painting. The inspiration for his "Golden Phase", which culminated with The Kiss, was presumably provided by a visit to Ravenna during his travels through Italy in 1903, which introduced him to the world of Byzantine mosaics. But Klimt was also influenced by contemporary painters: the abstract, decorative style of the Dutch Symbolist Jan Theodor must be mentioned here, as well as the Belgian Symbolist painter Fernand Khnopff.
There have been numerous attempts to identify the woman portrayed in The Kiss. Those mentioned have included Klimt's life-long partner Emilie Flöge, but also Adele Bloch-Bauer. The subject's well-proportioned facial features reveal a similarity to many of the women that Klimt portrayed, but ultimately they cannot be unequivocally attributed to a particular person.
In the painting a couple is depicted embracing in a field of flowers. The man is bent over the woman, and she - clinging tightly to him - awaits his kiss. In terms of ornamentation, the male figure is characterized by square and rectangular forms, while in the case of the female soft lines and floral patterns are dominant. A golden halo surrounds the couple, but it ends at the bare feet of the female, whose toes are sharply bent and firmly dug into the flower-covered meadow. At the same time, however, the couple seems to have shaken off this last remnant of earthly weight and has been transported into another infinite, almost sacred sphere, reminiscent indeed of the gold background of Byzantine mosaics.
When Klimt presented the painting to the public for the first time, in 1908, it was acquired - still unfinished - directly from the exhibition by the Austrian Gallery. This painting represents the centrepiece of the world's largest collection of works by Gustav Klimt, located in the Austrian Gallery in Vienna's Upper Belvedere Palace.
from austria.info.
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