Painting of Danae

Symbolist master Gustav Klimt painted Danae in 1907. The painting is based on the familiar Greek about Danae, daughter of the king of Argos. In the myth, it is foretold that the king will die at the hands of his daughters son. In order to avoid this destiny, the king has his daughter, Danae, locked up in a tower of Bronze. However, while there she is visited by Zues, in the form of a shower of gold, who impregnates her. She later gives birth to Perseus who in turn later, though accidentally, kills her father.

In the Klimt painting, the eroticism of the situation is hardly understated. The shower of gold that is Zeus is flowing freely between the legs of Danae. Meanwhile, her eyes are closed, her lips slightly parted and she definitely looks aroused. She is giving herself to the king of the gods. While lying there, she is covered only by a thin veil in the color of royal purple. The color of the veil is a further indication of her imperial lineage, with purple being the imperial color.

Should you wish to view this highly erotic symbolist painting “live”, it is on display at the Galerie Würthle in Vienna, Austria.

Pallas Athene

“...Her terrible eyes shining...” (Iliad I.200)

The above quote from the Iliad talks about the gaze of Greek goddess Pallas Athene, whose worship was the state religion of ancient Athens. Athene was the goddess of wisdom and war, not an entirely logical combination, but her personality and appearance was suited for the mix. She was an almost asexual goddess, by some called a man in a woman’s body, an androgynous deity. However, she was also the favorite of heroes and artists, would-be heroes and poets.

Klimt’s depiction of Pallas Athene is less sexually laden than other female portraits produced by the artist. It is not the sheer sexuality of the goddess that is in focus, though it could be said that the power exhumed from her alone is enough to cause some sexual tension.

Behind the goddess, we see numerous of the characters of Greek myth. There is Heracles, the Medusa, and her own totem owl. None look fit to in any way compete with the power of the goddess, she is above and beyond them all. She is the guardian of Athens and the thought alone of going up against her should intimidate any man. Her eyes alone, as also explained in the Iliad quote above, show the futility of going against her will. Klimt makes sure we see that her gaze alone is more than can be taken by mortal man. See more Gustav Klimt paintings which you can have painted as reproduction artwork for your home.

About Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt an Austrian Symbolism Painter born on July 14, 1862 was one of the most celebrated members of the Vienna movement. Some of Klimt's major works include paintings, murals, sketches and other art objects. Klimt's tertiary subject was the female body and his works are marked by a frank eroticism, nowhere is this more apparent than in his numerous drawings in pencil.

Art historians note an eclectic range of influences making up Klimt's distinct style, including Egyptian, Minoan, Classical Greek and Byzantine inspirations. His mature works are characterized by a rejection of earlier naturalistic styles, and make use of symbols or symbolic elements to convey psychological ideas and emphasize the "freedom" of art from traditional culture.

Klimt's work is often defined by elegant gold or coloured decoration, spirals and swirls, and phallic shapes used to camouflage the more erotic positions of the drawings upon which many of his paintings are based. This can be seen in Judith I (1901), and in The Kiss (1907-1908), and especially in Danae (1907). One of the most associated themes Klimt used was that of the dominant woman, the femme fetale

Klimt died on February 6, 1918 and today some of Klimt's paintings have brought some of the foremost prices recorded for individual works of art. Enjoy reading about Gustav Klimt and Gustav Klimt paintings.