A pair of lovers embrace on the edge of a flowering meadow; the man bends to kiss the woman's cheek, and both are wrapped in a single shimmering golden robe. Painted with gold leaf, Klimt's masterpiece is the summit of the Vienna Secession and Art Nouveau.
Key facts
- Artist
- Gustav Klimt1862–1918 · Austrian
- Date
- 1907–08
- Period
- Modern1900–1930
- Medium
- Oil and gold leaf on canvas
- Dimensions
- 180 × 180 cm
- Location
- Belvedere Museum Vienna, Austria
Actual size
Compared with an adult 170 cm tall
Palette
#89763F#A28F52#8C8E67#695627#C8AE5ABackground
The painting belongs to Klimt's “Golden Phase”. The son of a goldsmith, he visited Ravenna in Italy in 1903 and was overwhelmed by the glittering Byzantine mosaics in its churches; from then on he used gold leaf extensively.
In 1908, before it was entirely finished, the painting was shown at the Kunstschau exhibition in Vienna, and the Austrian state bought it for a high price; it is now in the Belvedere.
The lovers' identities are unknown. They are often said to be Klimt and his lifelong companion, the fashion designer Emilie Flöge, but there is no evidence.
Technique & composition
Klimt combined realistically painted faces and hands with flat decorative patterns. The bodies almost vanish beneath the golden robe; only faces, hands and feet are rendered naturalistically, creating a striking contrast.
He applied and silver leaf lavishly and scattered gold dust across the background, so the painting shimmers and changes in the light like a precious object or icon. It fuses painting, craft and the decorative spirit of .
Details
Symbolism
Masculine and feminine patterns
The man's robe is covered in , symbols of masculinity; the woman's dress is full of , symbols of femininity. The two patterns merge in the gold, symbolising the union of the sexes in love.
Love on the edge
The lovers kneel at the edge of , and the woman's extend over the brink. Some see a hint of love's danger and fragility: supreme happiness is only a step from loss.
Sacred love
The gold background derives from Byzantine icons, lifting the lovers out of time and space and turning them into an eternal image of love.
Stories
- Did you know?
The Kiss is one of Vienna's most popular souvenir images, printed on mugs, umbrellas and scarves, and draws huge numbers of visitors to the Belvedere every year.
- Did you know?
The man wears and the woman has tiny flowers in her hair, their ornaments echoing each other.
Legacy
The Kiss is the defining painting of Art Nouveau and an Austrian national treasure. Its blurring of the boundary between decoration and painting influenced later design, fashion and graphic art, and it remains one of the most beloved images of love.
