Hope II

Gustav Klimt Paintings involved avid depictions of women and children also made an appearance in a number of his paintings, including works like Death and Life. However, throughout the ages depictions of pregnant women have been rare and the works of Klimt are no exception. In Hope II, Klimt makes an exception by portraying a woman with her large pregnant belly. A skull is attached to the gown. Below her, three other women also bow their heads. Whether they are praying for a safe birth or actually morning cannot be said for sure.

The dress of the women and the surface they seem to rest on is extremely ornate, as is the style of Klimt. This is combined with byzantine style gold leaf painting around the main subjects to create a unified whole for the subject to rest in, and to keep our attention towards the central figures.

The focus of the painting on the bringing about of a new life, combined with the uncertain symbols and death and maybe mourning, reflects Klimt’s drive to depict the modern psychological subjects of the time. Klimt was an inhabitant of turn of the century Vienna, together with influences like Freud himself, and this springs through in works like Hope II.

Klimt’s Hope II can today be found in the collection of the Museum of Modern Arts in New York City.