Gustav Klimt was born in Austria in 1862

Gustav Klimt was born in Austria in 1862. His father was a gold and silver engraver. He was a painter his entire adult life until his death in 1918. The painting on the left is Klimt’s most popular painting. The background seems empty. The couple’s faces, hands and feet are clearly shown but the rest of the painting is lost in swirls of patterns and gold. Klimt’s rich, decorative style is characteristic of the style Art Nouveau, which means “new art” in French. Art Nouveau features ornamental details, particularly flowery swirls and curls.

Gustav Klimt The woman’s clothes have a flowery pattern, while the man’s clothes are covered in rectangles.

Gustav Klimt Artists like Gustav Klimt were preoccupied with dreams, the supernatural, and the mystery of life. But they didn’t think mystery could be shown directly in a painting, so they tried to suggest it by using strange, symbolic imagery. This became known as Symbolism. It is hard to say what some of the symbols mean. Here Gustav Klimt paints a recognizable symbol: The Tree of Life is an important symbol in nearly every culture.

Gustav Klimt The Tree of Life represents wisdom, protection, strength, and beauty. It reaches up into the sky and down into the earth. It links Heaven, Earth, and the Underworld. The swirled branches make people want to keep looking at the painting to explore and find more. What symbols do you see? What do the symbols mean?

Gustav Klimt Tree of Life