Catherine de Duve - The Little Klimt: A Fun and Cultural Moment for the Whole Family!

The Little Van Gogh

The Little Renoir

The Little Monet

The Little Degas

The Little Klimt

The Little Turner

The Little Bruegel

The Little Van Eyck

The Little Rubens

The Little Czanne

The Little Waterloo

Marie-Antoinette

A History of Belgium for children

Johanna Nestor
&
Johanna van Zuylen

Before you start reading, take a sheet of paper and several pencils.
You will need them to do the exercises.

Whenever you see this pencil, it is your turn to play!

Until 1918, Vienna was the metropolis of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The emperor Franois-Joseph, Sissis husband, rules over an empire of 17 countries. The city is enlarged to greet newcomers and a huge boulevard is built around the city: the Ring. Majestic buildings, theatres, operas, parliament, museum, a university, private houses are erected. They are decorated in a historic style, as if they had been standing there forever. The columns, arcades, sculptures, paintings, remind us of Greek temples or mediaeval cathedrals

Vienna is the city of music. Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Strauss lived there. One hails a coach to go to the opera of which Mahler is the director. Freud writes his Interpretation of Dreams. Yet while some are having fun in the Prater Parc, waltzing in the caf-concert halls at balls, a threat hovers over the imperial city. Vienna mixing up elements of renewal and decay glitters but not for much longer.

Gustav Klimt was born on the 4th of July 1862 in a suburb of Vienna. His father is a goldsmith; he chisels precious metals. Gustav has two brothers and four sisters, who shall be his first models. He studies at the Arts and Vocational College in Vienna with his brother Ernst. Together with a friend they open an artists studio: the Company of Artists to decorate the walls and ceilings of palaces and theatres. The three young painters have a similar academic style. But what do they paint? Historic scenes, representing for example art history throughout time, from Ancient Egypt, through Greek Antiquity, to the Italian Renaissance as in the staircase of the Art history museum, at the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

Allegory of the Antique Greece

Yet little by little, Klimt detaches himself from the traditional style and paints in a more personal fashion. At his brothers death, the artist settles alone in a new workshop. Klimt lives in an apartment with his mother and sisters. Often, early in the morning, he goes for a little walk before going to his studio. He likes the little wild garden which surrounds it, the flowers and the many cats.

Look at Klimt in his garden outside the studio.

In the 1890s, a new style of art is born in Europe. In Vienna, an art movement called Secession is started by a group of artists who find the traditional art style dull and boring. They create the Viennese Art Nouveau (Jugendstill).

In 1898 the Secessions exhibition pavilion opens its doors to the public. The architect Olbrich uses new straight and geometrical shapes. Its a beautiful piece of art! Under its golden laurel dome, we can read To each period its art, to art its freedom. But what does one do there? Novel artistic trends are exhibited, through the works of art of the member artists but also of guest artists from abroad, such as Rodin, Van Gogh, Khnopff, Signac They publish a review entitled Ver Sacrum to reach out to the general public. Art should be useful to all. Furniture, jewellery, clothes are created. In 1902, Klimt paints a 34m long narrow mural in the pavilion, called a frieze. He was inspired by Beethovens Ninth Symphony.

Look at this section of the frieze. What do you think the strange characters are doing?

Wrapped in her golden scale breastplate, Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom, war and arts, is staring at us. She holds a spear in one hand and a small figure in the other, a little woman representing the naked truth. It is an allegory. Klimt paints in his favourite format: the square. The frame is made in pushed timber by his brother, Georg.

Symbols of the goddess Athena are a helmet, spear, armour, owl and lyre. How many of them can you find in the painting?

What a horrible grimace! What sort of odd character is this one, sticking his tongue out at us? It is Medusa, one of the three gorgons. She has a womans body and hair made of snakes. It is said that he who crosses her glance is turned into stone. Petrified in horror! Visitors coming to the second Secession Exhibition in 1898 were taken aback: What a face!, they thought. Are they frightened perhaps?

An allegory