Klimt's Golden Phase

Klimt's name has always been associated with gold paintings. All these works were created in his so-called "Golden Phase" from 1901 to 1909. They are an astonishingly small group of works compared to others produced by Klimt. However, it is these golden paintings that have become Klimt's unmistakable hallmark and earned a permanent place in art history. Klimt's "Golden Style" most often manifests itself in profound and allegorical themes. Many of these pictures are given special significance by the splendor of gold and are thus transported to another level of reality.

As for why Klimt was so interested in gold, we can only speculate. Klimt could have received some early inspiration in his family home, where his father worked as a gold engraver. A key experience was certainly the trip to Venice and Ravenna in 1903, where Klimt admired the medieval gold mosaics in the cathedrals and churches.

One of the first works Klimt worked on using real gold leaf is the famous painting of Judith.

The master also used a lot of gold in the design of the background. He worked in motifs of fig trees and vines which are reminiscent of depictions in Sennacherib's Assyrian palace.

With full armor, a helmet on his head, and a lance in his hand, the golden knight seems to ride undeterred along a golden path.

…and traces of gold flakes even sparkle between the leaves of the dense foliage in the background.

A year later in 1904, Klimt created this unusual picture. It presents two female figures moving sinuously through the water, surrounded by fish and aquatic plants.

This makes the work appear like a valuable miniature piece. Klimt builds on this impression of it being a precious treasure by filling some parts of the picture—like the long hair of the women or the gentle creeping vines—with real gold.

The allegorical picture "The Three Ages of Woman" is a particularly large painting which is effectively enriched by gold and other metals.

The figures, all portrayed as nudes, are surrounded by encircling biomorphic and organic decorative layers in intense colors. In particular, the figure of the old woman is enveloped by a golden cloud in which small, spherical, shining gold elements gather.

The figures are also shown before a shimmering metallic background, a surface composed of a wealth of small bright dots.

The painting "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I" is most certainly a highlight of Klimt's Golden Period. It is currently kept in the Neue Galerie in New York. The painting was commissioned in 1903, the same year the master traveled to Ravenna. However, Klimt needed four years in total to complete the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), the eccentric wife of industrialist Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. When the painting was first presented at an exhibition it caused quite a stir, not least because of the unusual materials used. For art writer Ludwig Hevesi, for example, the portrait looked like "a hybrid of painting and crafts, produced with the diligence of a goldsmith.".

The individual ornamental motifs Klimt presents in this piece in abundance suggest several stylistic influences.

The idiosyncratic eye motifs and pointed triangles adorning the dress of Adele Bloch-Bauer are reminiscent of Egyptian gold jewelry. Meanwhile, the delicate spirals on the back of the chair are clearly inspired by ancient Mycenaean art.

Another highlight of Klimt's Golden Period is his best-known painting today, "The Kiss (Lovers)" from 1907/08 in the Belvedere collection in Vienna.

The group on the right side is also surrounded and effectively highlighted by a golden aureole. Klimt employs great inventiveness in structuring the gold leaf on the painting surface.

In the painting "Hope II," created at exactly the same time as "The Kiss," the cosmic stardust returns yet again. This time it is the background for an allegory of hope, which Klimt shows in the form of a highly pregnant young woman.

A long cloak hangs over her long gown decorated with flowers of various colors, which does not cover her breasts.

In contrast, a skull appears above the pregnant woman's belly, at the same time symbolizing the permanent threat of the extinction of life.

By 1909, Klimt's Golden Period had already come to an end. The last painting he created in this manner was "Judith II (Salome)," finished in 1909 and purchased shortly thereafter by the city of Venice.

Once again, Klimt presents Judith as a highly erotic femme fatale who still does not shy away from the cruel act for which she is known.

…or the spiral shapes in the background, or especially the wide gilded frame panels which balance out the extreme height of the painting.

Gold leaf can only be found in a select number of Klimt's paintings after 1909. One of the few works still displaying the use of gold after 1909 is the original version of the painting "Death and Life" created in 1910/11.

In this version, for example, gold decorations can be found in the motifs of the rose bush within the "Life" group.