Two Girls With An Oleander

This early work is one of Klimt’s rare paintings in which the figures are in a real and recognizable natural outdoor setting, rather than one transfigured into a precious ornamental arabesque as in his mature works. Though not yet thirty years old, Klimt demonstrated his total mastery of painting in Two Girls with Oleander. During these years, his interest focused on English art from the Victorian era and pre-Raphaelite painting. This was the time at which Klimt went beyond the narrow confines of painting as a historical reconstruction or photographic realism, and embarked on the path of stylistic decoration that would, within a few short years, lead him to the full poetry of symbolism.Three elements are most noticeable in this painting by Gustav Klimt: warm amber and rose tones, delicacy of images and symbols, and balance. The gold beading on the girl's veil stands out as though three-dimensional and glistening. The texture of stone, cloth, flowers, and skin appears incredibly real.