Cottage Garden

Today is the anniversary of the death of one of the most famous artists of Western art, Gustav Klimt. Klimt died in Vienna on 6 February 1918, having suffered a stroke and pneumonia brought about by the Spanish flu, one of the most deadly pandemics in history, which killed between 50 and 100 million people worldwide.

Painted in 1907 during the height of Gustav Klimt's career, the painting we present today blends natural realism with the decorative, symbolic avant-garde. Klimt found inspiration for Cottage Garden in the lush garden of the Mayr-Hof during summer retreats to Litzlberg on the Attersee, where he spent time relaxing and painting with friends and family. The garden, full of poppies, daisies, zinnias, and roses inspired Klimt to transform it into a shimmering display of color and form.

While Klimt is best known for his allegorical compositions and portraits of women, landscape painting became an increasingly significant part of his artistic output, accounting for nearly a quarter of his oeuvre. His landscape style evolved alongside his figurative works, initially influenced by Impressionism and Pointillism before transitioning to a more expressive and decorative approach. Unlike the Impressionists, Klimt sought to capture not just the surface beauty of nature but its essence, combining design, texture, pattern, and color to create works that transcend the fleeting and evoke a timeless, dreamlike quality.

We feature this painting in our gorgeous Flowers in Art 50 Postcard Set. See them in the DailyArt Shop!

P.S. Among Klimt's paintings of nature are gardens but also trees and even forests! Discover Gustav Klimt's enchanting depictions of trees!