Klimt, The Friends

One of the recurring themes in the works of Gustav Klimt paintings was the female shape, often shown as the femme fatale or in the nude woman. The 1916 painting “The Friends” offers an example where both of these forces seems to be at works simultaneously. The painting depicts two female friends together. One is naked while the other is covered by a red cloak. Their style of dress gives the impression of exotic origins, potentially from the Arab world, though they are both Caucasian in look. The presence of a dragon-like peacock to the left of the women amplifies this exotic appeal. The background for the painting is red, unlike the many earlier golden works of Klimt.

The nude woman wears a scarf covered in symbols around her head. However, aside from that one piece, the remaining cloth in the painting is devoid of obvious symbols, unlike what is seen in many earlier Klimt paintings. Nevertheless, the many birds and flowers surrounding the fair are instead inbued with their own symbolic meaning.

When looking at “The Friends”, it can be hard to see which of the two the femme fatale is. Indeed, both women can be said to fit that particular description. Not that this in any way diminishes the appeal of the motive – it would rather be the other way around. Gustav Klimt reproductions.

Klimt Reproductions

We continuously see more and more cases of art being reproduced today. Numerous websites offers reproductions of varying quality of the great masters, including Gustav Klimt reproductions. On the surface of things, reproducing Klimt could seem as among the more difficult tasks. His paintings offer sophisticated structures but not only that – he also used gold leaf in paintings like “The Kiss”. This made his original art expensive in his own day, and would not make it any less so today.

Fortunately, there have been some developments in the world of paint since then. Indeed, using gold paint in the place of gold leaf, painters are able to reproduce works of Klimt with uncanny resemblance. All of a certain, “Portraits of Adele Bloch-Bauer I”, “The Kiss” and more can indeed be reproduced to adorn the home. While the material is different and some historical notes on Klimt’s process might not be included, unless one wants to pay for real gold to be used of course, it also offers an exceptional opportunity to bring the beauty of Klimt right into your own home. Indeed, after looking at a few such paintings, we can honestly say that the results are not only impressive but uncanny in quality as well. It is also a definitive step upwards from posters and the like. Today, such reproductions can be made in high quality and we are very happy for it. 

The Three Ages of women

Around 1905, after having completed such works as Judith I and the university paintings, Gustav Klimt paintings “The Three Ages of women”. It was his first allegory that did not rely on historical and mythological figures. It was also the beginning of the larger multi figure allegories that took up much of the artist’s time in his later years.

Three Ages of Women depicts three women at different times of their lives. The youngest is the baby. She is in turn being held by the mother, still young but an adult. Last is the old woman, standing next to them and looking down. The three figures are set against a symbolic background so common in Klimt’s work. These symbols hold the energy of life and surrounds our main three figures. Outside this area, which holds all three figures, more uniform colors of gold and darkness prevail, a void that is close by but for now kept at bay. This structure also helps ensuring that our focus is kept on the three central figures.

The same three figures can be made out in both Medicine and Death and Life, other paintings by Klimt. After the death of his son Otto in 1902, Klimt became increasingly occupied with the subject of death and that can have helped lead to these paintings. As is customary for Klimt, notice that the focus is always on the female shape in these paintings.

Three ages of Women can today be found at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome, Italy.

Judith carrying the head of Holofernes

Painted by Gustav Klimt in 1901, the painting depicts Judith carrying the head of Holofernes. See more Gustav Klimt reproductions.

Originally told in the Book of Judith, Judith was a beautiful resourceful Israelite widow at the time when the Israelites were occupied by the Assyrians. With her maid she went to the camp of the Assyrian leader, General Holofernes, where she ingratiated herself while promising secret intel about her countrymen. Once she had gotten close enough to the general, she entered his tent one night while he was drunk and cut off his head and brought the head back to her countrymen. Fearful at the loss of their leader, the Assyrians dispersed and Israel was saved.

The painting by Klimt shows Judith carrying the head of Holofernes, thought the head in left in the lower right corner of the painting, allowing us to instead focus on Judith. She is wearing a flowing veil that unveils more than it covers, thus exposing her naked breast. Her eyes are half closed and her lips slightly parted, given the impression of almost sexual satisfaction with her deed. Klimt’s Judith is indeed a femme fatale, a vamp before that expression was ever invented.

Judith’s veil and the background meanwhile feature the gold and symbols that became Klimt’s trademark.

Judith I by Klimt is in the collection of Österreichische Galerie in Vienna, Austria.