The Kiss

The Kiss is probably Gustav Klimt’s most famous work. It is also the high point of the artist’s Gold Period, which was characterized by his use of gold leaf in his work. This painting is one in which Klimt deviated from his portrayal of dominant women as the femme fatale. Instead the portrayal is of love and art; a couple locked in a golden-flecked, flower-filled embrace. Klimt was a man with an unbridled sexual appetite; he fathered at least 14 illegitimate children. It is rumored that Klimt and his longtime companion, Emile Floge, who was also said to be his lover, were the models of the painting, which was selected to be printed on the Austrian 100 euro coin, minted in 2003. It was painted soon after his three-part Vienna Ceiling series which created a scandal and was criticized as both 'pornography' and evidence of 'perverted excess’. The works recast the artist as an enfant terrible for his anti-authoritarian and anti-popularist views on art. He wrote, "If you cannot please everyone with your deeds and your art, please a few.” By contrast, The Kiss was enthusiastically received, and immediately found a buyer.

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