The Kitsch of Klimt

This feature has been in draft mode for well over a year. Since I have been spending my winter hibernation in the upstairs den with an endless paint-by-number kit, it surfaced again. My eyes are going bonkers from the tiny impressionist blotches. Even harder is trying to define the minuscule distinction between white, eggshell and vanilla tones on the cobblestone street that makes up a large portion of the painting.

Color has always been my entry point into the world of art. Gustav Klimt would have to be at the forefront of chroma. We were enamored enough of an Ikea print, that we have him prominently on display as the centerpiece of our dining room. The rich golds, oranges and maroons are stunning. 

Art seems to re inspire us in waves. Klimt has been back in fashion over the last few years. There was first the Helen Mirren film, a factual telling of his Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer which was titled Woman in Gold. There is the interactive showing in Paris Atelier des Lumieres that is over-the-top and continues to repeat of my Facebook feeds. I cannot even fathom submersing myself in it.
Atelier des Lumieres - Klimt 

But my original curiosity was this article in ArtNet News dating back to 2015. It is masterful photography work by Inge Prader that daringly takes his famous pieces and brings them to life with models. He is Austrian and the sittings were done for a fund raising benefit. The images are complex, intricate and provoking to say the least. Klimt was part of a Viennese Secessionist movement which was founded to encourage art to think ourside the box. "To every age its art. To every art its freedom." Each artist was exploring in their own uniqueness. This was also coming into the period of Freud and free thinking.

Almost 200 years later, the images (both the paintings and these photos) are sublime. Enjoy theses posted portraits and look at the full collection posted in the link.




 

Inge Prader - Klimt Portraits