TOW 17: The Kiss (edited)

This painting is called The Kiss by Austrian artist, Gustav Klimt. He was an Austrian symbolist painter, with most of his works revolving around the female body. One of his most prominent paintings is the one above, The Kiss. Canadian artist Charles Moffat claims that The Kiss is "widely considered to be the greatest painting ever, better than even the Mona Lisa” (Gaylord para 8). The fact that a professional artist considers this painting to surpass the world phenomena, the Mona Lisa, is an amazing feat that goes to show the talent and aesthetics that Klimt was capable of.

The Kiss was a breath of fresh air after Klimt’s previous paintings were initially negatively received by the public for their “perverted excess.” The Kiss was different in that it was able to portray the passionate love between a man and woman without explicit images, but rather doing so subtly and discreetly. This painting displays a man and a woman embracing and engaging in a passionate kiss. The color scheme utilized in this painting portrays a happy ambiance around the couple with the widespread use of yellow, a bright and cheery color, clearly capturing the main focal point of the painting. Although the bodies of the couple are not explicitly shown, their closeness to each other symbolizes how a kiss has the power to unify two people as one. The isolation of this couple with no other visible people represents an ideal world, in which love has the power to overpower all other distractions. The placement of the couple on a colorful meadow filled with flowers again contributes to the gay and joyful emotions that love evokes.

Klimt's rhetorical device of color scheme was very unique. After further research, it was discovered that Klimt had used fresco, mosaic techniques, and oil painting in this work. Several different methods were used to create this painting, symbolizing the different schemes necessary for the different interpretations and evocations of love. The varying colors utilized in this painting portray the diversity of love. Love is not something that can be easily summed up in one word, and the complexity of the colors and techniques used goes to show that love is a complicated yet beautiful idea.

The painting is for the general public. However, it mainly appealed to the specific group interested in Klimt’s art because of his unique style. A large portion of his paintings contained erotic images that were referred to as “pornography”, which was not a concept that many accepted. In addition, many in the art industry gained their inspiration from this specific painting and his other works. The Kiss served as inspiration for other painters, such as Rudolf Fila and Egon Schiele. It has also been the source of inspiration for Christian Dior’s 2008 spring-summer collection and a Japanese band’s album cover. Klimt’s widespread influence of his paintings reveal the large network that the painting impacted, far beyond his intended audience.

The painter's purpose was accomplished. Klimt managed to create a beautiful painting displaying the idea of love through a kiss, without using graphic images. His use of different colors and textures added unto the complicated idea of love, while maintaining a neat and concise painting that was able to appeal to the mass audience.