Klimt Life and Work - Research Paper Example

INTRODUCTION The Kiss by Gustav, Konstatin and Auguste are great works of art by the three artists who hade the same concept of a couple embraced passionately kissing. This reveals of how the artists wanted to capture the theme of love in their works in a manner that could be understood by all. Although there is a similarity in their works of art, the artists have used diverse mediums to portray their thoughts. In this piece we look into each work of art on how the artist brought his idea into reality, the medium used and the feelings or thoughts these artists portray. Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss is particularly an interesting peace of work. Such is evident on how the artists composed the portrait in a perfect style which is shown in the manner in which the colours are used. (Patrick L. Frank, Sarah Preble 2010) The canvas itself is a perfect square that holds Klimt’s expression of a couple embracing and sharing a passionate moment while entwined together. Klimt produced this magnificent work of art at the age of 45 in which he used oil paints and gold leaf. At that point of life he still leaved with his mother and two sisters. The artist is noted to have a sexual appetite that was expressed in his works such as The Kiss. ( Partsch, Susanna 1989) Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss is designed in a manner in which contrast and colour shadowing creates an appealing tone on the painting. The use of dull oil paints on various parts of the painting such as the background, hand the use of gold leaf in most parts of it creates a bright picture. The golden aspect of the painting is used to show of how the couple is entwined in a single robe to show how they feelings that they have for each other is mutual. Auguste Rodin in his bid to make his thought known utilizes his magnificent skill of sculpting to produce an amazing sculpture. This work of art borrows its idea from the tale of a noblewoman who fell in love with her husband younger brother. However this hidden affair that sparked when the two fell in love while reading a book is discovered and the couple is killed by the woman’s husband. It is noted that in the sculpture that the lovers' lips do not touch. This thus is used to suggesting that two lovers were interrupted and their affair ended even before they had the chance to share a passionate kiss. This sculpture created by Rodin is in marble to show that the artists considered marble as the best medium for his work of art. It must have been the ease that comes from sculpting and shaping marble that must have influenced Rodin’s choice. (Patrick L. Frank, Sarah Preble 2010) Konstatin Brancusi work of art is a marble sculpturing that depicts two lovers kissing with their lips in full contact unlike in Auguste’s sculpture. The work of art is purely in marble to show Konstantin’s favour of marble to other elements used in sculpturing. This must have been the case considering that Konstantin was a student of Rodin thus the choice of using marble in his works of art. This work of art must have been a personal replication of what Rodin had done in the 1880s as he sculpted his in 1908. Konstantins work is a composition of well outlined geometrical lines unlike in other artists’ works.( Brezianu, B. Geist, S. 1965) His abstract style while creating the sculpture must have earned him the title of “a modern sculpture patriarch”. This shows that the works done by him are the pioneers of today’s’ sculptures. In this three works of art although they share the same name they seem to portray different feelings and thoughts that the artists had when they produced their respective works. In Gustav’s work we identify that the artist aimed at portraying the feeling of how he was fascinated by eroticism thus his painting of a woman kneeling and the man holding her trying to kiss her. The painting shows of how Gustav tried to bring the woman having the status of a protagonist. He desired to expose women not just as an object of desire but something that is considerable importance in a relationship. He wraps the couple in a robe to show their unity and how the share a mutual feeling. Gustav goes ahead and portrays the man as dependent party that holds on to the woman trying to share a kiss with her. Their posture suggests a longing for each other and the response by the woman to the man’s approach to kiss her shows that she has a choice in the matter and thus her overall important position as being more than an object to the man. Rodin adopts his work from the tale of the couple that had a secret affair that ended when the woman’s husband discovered it and killed the two lovers. The sculpture at a glance shows the deep affection that the two lovers had as the man holds the woman in an affectionate manner. The feeling of love and intimacy brought about by the sculpture is quite evident and catches the interest of any art critic. However at a closer look you realize that the couple are not kissing but are about to kiss as their lips are not touching. Form the tale we discover that the couple was caught and thus this suggests that Rodin aimed at portraying their last moments before their hidden affair was discovered. With this conclusion then we realise that sculpture has a sad tone as the two never had the chance to have that kiss that they desired to share. In Konstantin’s sculpture the couple is closely embraced as is the case in Gustav’s painting. However considering that the work must have been a replication of Rodin’s earlier work Konstantin takes a different approach and portrays the couple in a kissing position. Konstantin’s sculpture shows of how the lips of the two lovers are in full contact to suggest that the artist wanted to show of what the two lovers were to share. Although its adopted from a work that has a saddening tone, Konstantin’s work is more positive as the two lovers embrace each other in a passionate kiss. Thus this shows that he aimed to preserve the feelings that the couple had unlike Rodin’s which shows of the consequences of a secret affair that could not be condoned. Konstantin beautifully achieves his desire to portray the effects of romance with the lips being in full contact in his sculpture. The three works of art use different mediums as Gustav chooses to paint while Rodin chooses to sculpt. Konsantin having attended Rodin’s workshop is also a sculptor but his method of using well outlined geometrical lines shows a different approach from Rodin’s work. References Patrick L. Frank, Sarah Preble. Prebles' Artforms 10th Edition. Pearson, 2010 Rodin’s The Kiss //www.statue.com/site/rodin-in-the-kiss.htm Brezianu, B. Geist, S. "The Beginnings of Brancusi". Art Journal 25 (1): 15–25, 1965 Partsch, Susanna. Klimt: Life and Work. London, Bracken Books, 1989. Read More