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Klimt’s style and imagery can be found in unexpected places, such as the children’s show Mia and Me and an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This adds to his popularity in contemporary art culture, along with the high prices his art fetches at auctions.
Therefore, the latest addition to the Exhibition on Screen series takes a different approach by exploring Klimt’s popular poster and delving into the artist’s passions and inspirations, rather than solely focusing on a particular show or body of work.
Although it may be a familiar image, there are still new discoveries to be made about The Kiss. One detail I had never noticed before is that the intertwined lovers are standing on the brink of a cliff. The film also highlights the fact that while the image may seem radical, Klimt was not at the forefront of modern art at the time. In fact, when it was first displayed in 1908, The Kiss was shown alongside more significant works such as Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907) and Matisse’s La Danse (1909).
There is a lot of information in this text about Klimt’s various interests, including his use of Byzantine icon-painting and art nouveau and symbolism from the Vienna Secession. The film includes knowledgeable art historians who explain these aspects, but it also lacks some excitement when discussing Klimt’s explicit eroticism and questionable behavior. It’s unclear if Klimt will face similar backlash as Picasso, but there may be further issues in the future.
Source: theguardian.com
