The splendor of Byzantine churches with their glinting gold mosaic domes in addition to gorgeous art work can be found throughout the Mediterranean area, especially in Sicily, with Cathedrals such as Monreale and Italy, with St Marks in Venice. The shimmering colorings of silk (whose creation was a state secret within the Empire) combined with gold and enamels resulted in Byzantine walls explosions of color. The Byzantines seemed to be aware of their impact on guests and at times intentionally cultivated it, potentially along the way inducing the envy that caused the fourth crusade and the Empire’s eventual downfall.
In no other place is the colorful gold influence of the Byzantine world be viewed more clearly than in the art of celebrated artist Gustav Klimt, yet his subject material was very different from his source of inspiration.
While Byzantine Byzantine art work boasts two dimensional portraiture often of mythic together with religious moments, the artwork of Klimt can be described as sensual and practically fully composed of female figures. The Byzantine inspiration is viewed in the employment of mosaic designs and ornamental flourishes, jewel-like colors and the use of gold. Klimt’s brother and father were both gold engravers, and perhaps that is the explanation for the usage of gold in so many his art works. Though Klimt would not travel a tremendous amount, he repeatedly went to both Ravenna and Venice therefore appears in all likelihood that that’s the place where he ended up being in contact with Byzantine art.
Klimt started work being an muralist who worked with his brother and a friend to paint interior murals and ceilings. He accepted a medal honoring his work in 1888, however his approach transformed after the demise of his brother and father. For ten years from 1897 Klimt would be a member (and in the past president) of the Wiener Sezession a contingent of artists who balked at classic teachings and hence seceded from the Association of Austrian Artists. Their aim was to provide exhibitions for unusual artists and bring the best of foreign art work to Vienna. They did not prefer any particular style and obtained government aid including a lease on some public land where they could construct an convention hall.
Klimt’s individual art didn’t fare well in the beginning. Many of the works he was commissioned to produce were turned down and considered ‘pornographic’. His future effort was much better accepted, specifically that of his ‘gold’ period when he integrated a great deal of gold leaf. In 1911 Klimt won first prize in the world exhibitions held in Rome, yet he left very little behind other than his art work. His life wasn’t rich in scandal, he made no self portraits and left no notes and no diary. He passed on in 1918 leaving several paintings incomplete.
Three of Klimt’s works received several of the highest prices ever paid for art with the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer selling for $135 million in 2006. At the moment it had been the highest selling price previously paid for a piece of art, although it has today been surpassed by the $137 paid for Willem de Kooning’s Woman III and the $140 million paid for Jackson Pollocks No 5, 1948.
Few of us have the funds to indulge in authentic art work, or even the proper living space in which to hang a good Klimt reproduction, however some of Klimt’s more popular works can now be savored as sculptures, and therefore they make attractive decorative creations and practical presents for fine art enthusiasts or anyone who might enjoy an art-inspired museum gift.
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