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Gustav Klimt FRAGMENTS
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Introduction........................................................................ 4 TheLetters........................................................................... 6 The Words......................................................................... 18 The Other People’s Words................................................ 26 Works Cited...................................................................... 46
Introduction A waterlily grows in the lake it is in bloom For an handsome man there is a woe in the heart. Gustav Klimt, Waterlily, 1917
Klimt lived his life in the same way he conceived art: following the idea of Gesamtkuntswerk, the total work of art that such a big role had in the German literature of ‘19th Century. Being his 1908 statement about the conception of figure of the Artist, propounded by the group gathered around the Viennese painter and illustrator, “[to be] similar to the idea we have of the Work of Art” so famous, then it is fair to say that Klimt’s greatest artistic expression is, indeed, his own life. In the same, relevant, speech he also pointed that “we should call Artists not just those who create art, but also those who enjoy art, those who are able to bring back to life and evaluate with senses the artistic creations”. In this poetic statement it is possible to find big parts of the European Culture of that time, like the tendency to aestheticize life and the increasingly strong Cult of Art. Only keeping in mind what Nietzsche wrote in his The Birth of Tragedy (1872), that “existence of the world is only justified as an aesthetic phenomenon”, it is possible to fully understand the figure of the great Austrian painter. Even if he was not totally unrelated to some Apollonian attitude in his figurative path, Klimt could also be able to stare in the abysses of the human soul, 4
Introduction
without being overcome by them. It is evident, indeed, how his biography includes keen passions and strong Dionysian impulses: unable to divide his personal and professional lives, Klimt gave Libido a strategic centrality, both inside and outside of his paintings. Klimt had several liasons and at least fourteen children, he always refused to marry not to be forced to choose one of his partners, but was always related to all of them and a affectionate father. He wrote his lovers and children many letters, which are the core of his epistle that, in addition to his articles, transcriptions of public speeches, memories from colleagues, friends and relatives that have come to us, is included in the corpus of direct primary sources available for those who wish to get to know the life and thought of the father of Viennese Secession. In this book we gathered and organized those passages, in the vast material provided, that seemed more interesting for their own originality and that, all in all, allow to draw an initial portrait of Gustav Klimt. Raffaele Nencini 5
The Letters ....................
Introduction
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The Letters
“I
believe you when you tell me that it seems like you do not have a future as an artist: first you have to rest and learn how to see; then you may find some time for painting. The point is: painting is tough, very tough, and I know this really well, my dear Mizzi.
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From a letter to Marie Zimmerman, September 1902
In the previous two pages: Gustav Klimt, Beethoven Frieze, detail, mixed materials on plaster, 1902, Secessionhaus, Vienna. Left: G. Klimt, Lady with hat, 1909, private collection.
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The Letters
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The Letters
“T
oday I want to start working again in earnest: I am looking forward to it because doing nothing does become rather boring after a while, even if I force myself into intense meditation, in the morning and the afternoon, about Art and some other things. True relaxation, which would do me the world of good, does not exist for me. So, we keep “working” in a different study, in the vain illusion to achieve something: hope is legitimate, until the canvas is glaringly white.
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From a letter to Marie Zimmerman, beginning of August 1903
Left: G. Klimt, The Bride, detail, oil on canvas, 1917-1918, private collection.
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The Letters
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The Letters
“Y
ou ask me how my daily routine is: it is very simple and quite regular. I wake up early in the morning, around 6. When the weather is fine I can go in the woods here nearby and paint a group of beeches in the sun surrounded by pine trees. I do this until 8, when I have breakfast, and then I go to the lake, where I can have a swim, with some caution, and paint some more: a view of the lake, when it is sunny, or a landscape from my window when it is cloudy; some other mornings I do not paint, I just read my Japanese art books outside.
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From a letter to Marie Zimmermann, end of September 1903
Left: G. Klimt, Beech Forest, oil on canvas, 1905, Gemaldegalerie, Dresden.
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The Letters
“M
ore than ten years ago, when they offered me the University Aula Magna job, I accepted with enthusiasm. My work, that I attended with all of my effort for years, has been received by any sort of insult, that never managed to smother my passion, considering from where those insults were coming.
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From the letter to the Secretary of Culture and Education Wilhelm Von Hartel, April 3, 1905
Left: G. Klimt, Hygeia, detail of Medicine, oil on canvas, 1901-1907, destroyed in 1945 in the fire at Immendorf Castle.
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Editing: Raffaele Nencini Graphic Design: Giulia Raineri Translation: Stefano Patrizio Š2016 C&T Crossmedia Srl Via dello Studio, 5 Firenze www.ctcrossmedia.com info@ctcrossmedia.com
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