This week is La Modernista first birthday!!
On July 17th, 2020 I took a deep breath and pushed the “Publish” bottom of the very first post. It felt intimidating to expose myself, I’ve been on and off a few times, but it also gave me an exciting thing to look for. The research for themes and artists, the discoveries and great art I’ve seen this year, makes it super rewarding!
It was a happy coincidence then when I found out that Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), one of my favourites among the big names, was born on July 14th.
Klimt has a mystical, bohemian aura, that is always attached to some kind of sensual and sexualized interpretation of his work. Yes, he painted a lot of women, a lot of naked women, and Symbolism was about a sexual awakening among other themes (see below), but at the same time, he also created a world of pattern, colour and texture that are so much richer than those interpretations alone.
In the suggestions below, I tried to avoid “The Kiss” and “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I”, because probably you have already seen them many times, instead let’s focus on other works.
Klimt week
So, I invite you to join the celebrations and check the suggestions for a week full of wonderful art!
1. Viennese Modernism
Start the week with this video explaining what was the Secession and how Modernism happened in Vienna.
2. Explore Palais Stoclet’s friezes
This Belgian house was entirely decorated with the idea of the total artwork (Gesamtkunstwerk) in mind. Discover it through an exhibition organized by MAK-Vienna, now available on Google Arts & Culture.
https://g.co/arts/12sSMPJeKVWABcD99
3. Read “What do you need to know about Gustav Klimt”
Alexxa Gotthardt writes the best article about his life and work at Artsy.
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-gustav-klimt
4. Explore Viennese museums
Both Belvedere and Albertina museums in Vienna have great Klimt collections that you can explore online.
5. Watch curators introducing Klimt’s paintings
With this playlist created by Leopold Museum. Subtitles in English.
6. Virtual Visit to the Burgtheater
The ceiling panels painted between 1886/1887 telling the history of theatre are wonderfully detailed, via Google Arts & Culture.
https://g.co/arts/12sSMPJeKVWABcD99
7. Symbolism
To finish the week, have a look at this video from the National Galleries of Scotland explaining the symbolism movement. Oh, and check the other videos from the same series, they are all great!
Any thoughts, questions, ideas? Let me know below or reach me on Social!
Please send the article to a friend and share the celebration!
Have a great week!
❤
La Modernista 