Gustav Klimt | Inspire Me Monday

This past semester I had the opportunity to study art history from the 19th century. It was incredibly enlightening due to the many drastic changes in art that began nearing the end of the era. Many if not all of my all-time favorite artists have stemmed from that time period including Matisse, whom I highlighted a couple of weeks ago. This week's inspiration is an Vienna born symbolist painter from that same time period but incredibly different as far as movement and style. 

Gustav Klimt 
(July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918)

You've probably seen prints of his famous piece The Kiss or other's from his golden phase sold at Ikea. 

What I love about his work is his extremely detailed and ornate patterns and texture. His use of shape within space is stunning and like candy for the eyes. There is so much to look at and take in. Not only that but the contrast of the softened skin of the figures and the heavy detail in the patterns and bold uses of color are unique to him. 

Despite these two artworks above being quite different stylistically speaking his footprint is still recognizable in the emotions and facial expressions found in his figures. I love that he draws from so many different styles of art. In this piece he uses Sfumato, a softening technique that leads back all the way to Da Vinci threading the technique with allegorical themes and heavy symbolism. 

What captivates me the most about his work is the emotional qualities that are exhibited in every single one of his images. It's hard not to be drawn in to his work based on this aspect alone. This a quality I lack heavily in my own work and as I move forward in my journey I hope to imply more of those emotional qualities he exudes into what I do.

What do you like about Gustav Klimt?