Gustav Klimt, Danae. Description of the painting, style and methods of the artist's work

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918) - Austrian painter. He became the founder of Art Nouveau in Austria. The main interest for him was the body of a woman, both dressed and naked. In all his works there is frank erotica. The canvas "Danae" by Gustav Klimt is no exception.

Short Biographical Information

The future artist was born into a poor family of a jeweler and gold engraver who did not have a permanent job. His father began to teach him how to draw, and then he continued his studies at the Vienna Art and Craft School, receiving a conservative academic education. However, the young artist began to paint in the new Art Nouveau style with elements of eroticism, which caused a sharp criticism from customers who wanted to see his works in public buildings.

After that, the artist worked only with private individuals or created his canvases for the soul. Thus was born "Danae" by Gustav Klimt (1907 - 1908) and many othersworks such as "Judith", "The Naked Truth", "The Kiss", which initially dispersed in private collections.

Golden period of G. Klimt

The subtlest colorist, who had a luminous talent, leads a story with us far from the rough everyday life. His best works are close to symbolism, which is best read through the very subtle erotica that is poured through his works. Allegorical figures, beautiful women, expressive and vivid landscapes, portraits that are in the heavenly ether, where there is no place for grief and deprivation, live in his world of pleasure and bliss. Beauty is the key definition for all the paintings of the painter. She emerges from magical dreams where women are like exotic flowers.

The artist's perspective is almost always two-dimensional, the images are stylized, reminiscent of the mosaics of Ravenna and Venice. They are decorated with floral or other ornaments, a lot of gilding and symbols close to Byzantium are used. The most famous painting by the artist of this time is The Kiss, which combines both realism and exoticism. She can show the viewer what true love is. The painting “Danae” (Gustav Klimt) belongs to the same period.

The plot of the work

He is widely known. On this topic, outstanding and truly brilliant painters have written many canvases. But no one gave Danae such an interpretation of the image as Gustav Klimt did.

In the myths of the Hellenes, Danae is the daughter of King Acrisius. Soothsayers told him that he would die at the hands of his grandson. That's whythe king imprisoned his lovely daughter and did not allow a single man to see her, and chastity was required from the daughter. This did not prevent the powerful Zeus, since nothing is impossible for a god to see a beautiful girl. He was immediately captivated by her beauty and fell in love with her.

What are the stone walls of the underground dungeon and copper doors for the all-powerful and all-powerful God? To merge with the girl in a single burst of passion, Zeus descended on her with a golden rain. Gustav Klimt wrote the picture on the plot of the love of Zeus and the earthly girl Danae exactly as he saw it alone. It has only two characters. Now we will move on to the analysis of this piece.

Gustav Klimt, "Danae": description of the painting

There is not a single superfluous detail in the very narrow, closed, dark space of the canvas. Danae is forced to curl up almost into a ball, which gives her pose a pronounced sexuality. We see bliss on the face of a sleeping girl with whimsically spread red hair. Her scarlet lips are parted. They seem to be waiting for a kiss. Thin graceful fingers want to catch the elusive and hold a moment of passion right in a dream.

The proportions of the body are deliberately distorted. It is they who make Danae (Gustav Klimt) an erotic painting. We can see a small, apple-shaped chest, and in the foreground - a huge thigh. The artist covered the bosom of the virgin with a stream of golden rain, which descends in large drops.

There is no shamelessness in Gustav Klimt's painting Danae. There is only the scene of fertilization, that very moment,when new life is born. The ornament of the painting, coupled with the golden rain, gives the scene an irrational and mystical meaning. Here, female sexuality acquired the maximum exaggeration from the artist. Femininity, previously isolated, is fully revealed in the picture. But thanks to stylization, the distance between the image and the viewer is maintained. He is by no means an accomplice. He accidentally opened up a heavenly otherworldly phenomenon that can cause sublime peace. Currently, the painting "Danae" is in the Wurthle Gallery in Vienna.