Looking at the works of Gustav Klimt, it is clearly his use of gold, his symbolism and to a certain extend his femme fatales that stand out. Klimt painted The Kiss, Judith I and Adele Bloch-Bauer I and II and all of these paintings stand out as highly unique masterpieces.
However, not all of Klimt’s paintings were equally golden, equally erotic or equally full of direct symbolism. A good example of a completely different painting from is Birch Forest (Buchenwald) painted by Klimt in 1901. There is no gold, no woman and no direct symbols, unless the trees themselves are seen as such.
However, some of Klimt’s trademarks still remain. The painting is first of all decently sized at 110x110 cm. The second is Klimt’s technique. The trees are almost combinations of rectangles, the leaves carefully yet numerously rendered, not unlike the flower bed in The Kiss but in greater detail. The base of the trees are similarly colored in the manner of the background from The Kiss, with an almost foggy combination of the same colors, almost like pointillism without points, instead applying varied shapes. As such, even in this beautiful forest depiction, the work of Klimt is still visible, indeed shines through.
The Birch Wood can today be found on display at the Wolfgang-Gurlitt-Museum in Germany.
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