The Decadent World of Gustav Klimt's 'The Kiss'

There are times when we prefer to sit and paint the world rosy. To make it look more appealing for ourselves to live in. We go to parties, drink, dance, and indulge in all our pleasures, all just to make the lives we live a little more 'lively', 'optimistic', 'enjoyable'. etc. And those of us that carry sorrows, and burdens of various kinds, finish with that bucket of chocolate ice cream, and return to dark homes, where it all comes back to us and consumes us, as if we were just performing an act. It is as such moments, or while witnessing such incidents that I often remember the paintings of Gustav Klimt. One of the more prominent art nouveau painters who has, lets say, intrigued me often.

The Austrian painter was known for his rich decadent style of painting; his powerful striking women, draped in patterns of gold, distinguished by their "frank eroticism". I have a lot of favorite paintings done by Klimt. However, today I choose to talk about one of his most famous ones, known as "The kiss" (1907-1908). I shall cut to the point and leave out the line, "the painting is truly a masterpiece", and that it is no doubt. However, I wish to see it in a different light.

The painting comes across as deeply powerful; the simple grip of the unidentified man over the woman, gives and sense of dominating love. The woman, caught in an expression of aloofness, as if to remind us of those mills and boons stories that describe women melting in men's arms; such is the emotion caught by the artist's hand in this painting. It is all so surreal, that Klimt derives the desire in its female viewer to be much a part of this erotic love story.
The curvaceous form of both the lovers, entwined in each other, appearing inseparable reinforces the strength and the intensity of their emotion. The lifted foot of the leg of the woman reminds me of a scene from "princess diaries" where it was suggested that during a woman's best kiss, the woman would unknowingly lift up her foot daintily. This is perhaps a perfected reaction, built into the mannerisms of most "homely and perfect" women of yesterday's household. Yet the representation of it, reminds of the symbolism that Klimt is famous for, and that in this painting he chooses to suggest the heightened arousal of the woman in the painting.

Yet, all this is overridden by the patterns of gold that surround the two lovers, making the entire symbolism to appear ethereal. Klimt engrosses himself in the intricate designs and pattern, and enwraps the couple within them. They become sucked into this world wind of decorated sheets and clothing, which pronounce Klimt's influences by the Greek and Minoan paintings.

Some art historians and critiques and perhaps some unprofessed psychoanalytics of the time described some of these patterns as "elegant gold or colored decoration, that often were phallic in shape which concealed the more erotic positions of the drawings Klimt based many of his paintings on." Perhaps they were true, and perhaps underneath all of these "unnecessary Christmas decorations" lay the real Klimt's painting, that which was perhaps more pornographic in nature and at that time would have been out rightly refused to be called a piece of art. That would perhaps give reason to Pablo Picasso's painting of the"Demoiselles D'Avignon". Nevertheless, it was Klimt's style of work, and perhaps he did not want to conceal in subconscious urges or Oedipal complexes. Perhaps this was Klimt's way of painting the world rosy, or even presenting his viewer with the rosy world that they often dream and take the pains to create. And he did it with all the right colors to make it appear as rich as possible, and wasn't even stingy with the gold.

The painting "The kiss" can be rather soothing in all its glory. Taking one away into a rather mystical and intriguing world of affluent characters, and women. One step into Klimt's world, and one-steps into a world of aristocracy, wealth, love, lust and filthily decadent in every manner. A world one can love, or detest, which of these attitudes toward this world Klimt possessed, no one really knows. Yet, do not mistake me, for this is not entirely an artificial world. For it is as real and as pure as the detailed faces and glistening skin textures that Klimt paints. We are so much a part of this world as the painter. As our eyes move with the curves that lead us into the composition of the painting, we too get absorbed in this richness, the lust, the love of the painting. We become it characters, and play its roles. Klimt set the stage for his art lovers. And forever, shall be the man who decorated it all.