The Black Bull by Gustav Klimt - 1900 - 82 × 82 cm Leopold Museum The Black Bull by Gustav Klimt - 1900 - 82 × 82 cm Leopold Museum

The Black Bull

Oil on canvas • 82 × 82 cm

  • Gustav Klimt - July 14, 1862 - February 6, 1918 Gustav Klimt

    1900

Today is the last Sunday of our special partnership with the Leopold Museum in Vienna. We hope you enjoyed moving through the Vienna Secession for a while!  :)

This unusual motif of a bull dominating the entire depiction was created during Gustav Klimt’s first stay in Litzlberg on the Attersee. A city person, the artist was evidently so impressed with the stables of the brewery inn and the bull named Martin that he thought the motif worthy of being captured on canvas. All corporeal and spatial elements appear muted by the work’s clayey coloring. The only source of light penetrating the dusky atmosphere is provided by the small stable window in the background, admitting some rays of bright light.

The same sense of atmosphere, experimentation, and decorative vision continues in our Vienna Secession Planner, inspired by the artistic world of Klimt and the Vienna Secession.

P.S. Klimt is an iconic artist in art history ... but how much do you know about him? Here are 5 facts you need to know about Gustav Klimt!