Gustav KlimtAustrian, 1862–1918Sonnenblume
May one see it?
Unknown
Belvedere
Vienna, Austria
The owner is known; whether it is on view today is not.
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
In the museum's own words — in German
Gustav Klimt zeigt eine einzelne majestätische Sonnenblume inmitten dieser quadratischen Komposition, in der sich das Grün einer Hecke wie ein Musterteppich über die gesamte Bildfläche ausbreitet. Die Blüte leicht geneigt, scheint sie ihre Blätter wie zum Schutz über die bunten Sommerblumen zu wölben, die dicht gedrängt unter ihr wachsen. Tatsächlich wurde Klimts Sonnenblume immer wieder als menschenähnliche Gestalt gedeutet, die in ihrer Form an mittelalterliche Schutzmantelmadonnen erinnert: Der berühmte Kunstkritiker der Wiener Secession Ludwig Hevesi sah in ihr eine „verliebte Fee“. Andere wollten in diesem Gemälde gar ein verstecktes Porträt der Designerin Emilie Flöge erkennen.
Belvedere
Particulars
In the catalog
Sources
- Belvedere
- Image: Belvedere — CC BY-SA 4.0
Meanwhile, in the life of Gustav Klimt
The whole life1900–1907
He returns the advance and keeps the paintings
The state commission refused to accept the three “Faculty Paintings”; Klimt told the minister he would return the 60,000-krone advance, refused to work for the Austrian state again and kept the pictures. The ministry demanded them, but Klimt did not open the door to the removal men — and the affair ended in his victory.
1905
Klimt and his group leave the Secession
Klimt and his “stylist” followers, who held that art should enter every sphere of life, fell out with the “naturalists”; the decision against Klimt's group was carried by a single vote. For the next three years the group had no joint exhibitions.
1906
The “Kunstschau” group
A year after the split Klimt formed the “Kunstschau” group, or “Klimt group”, which included Carl Moll, Otto Wagner and other leading Austrian artists.
1 June – 16 November 1908
The first Vienna Art Show
For the sixtieth anniversary of Franz Joseph's reign pavilions with 54 rooms were built on a temporary site and over 900 works shown. Room 22, which Peter Altenberg called “the church of modern art named after Gustav Klimt”, held “The Kiss”, “Adele Bloch-Bauer I”, “Danaë” and “The Three Ages of Woman”.
1909
The second Vienna Art Show
The second generation of modernists was represented by Kokoschka and Egon Schiele, and Klimt showed “Judith II” and “Hope II”. The works of Van Gogh, Munch, Gauguin, Vallotton, Bonnard and Matisse gave him the impulse for a new phase, but he never organized exhibitions again.
1910
Klimt at the Venice Biennale
Klimt's exhibition at the 1910 Venice Biennale influenced the artistic scene of Venice; the Italian Liberty artists Galileo Chini and Vittorio Zecchin were among those he influenced.
