Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918) - Austrian artist. He became the founder of Art Nouveau in Austria. The main interest for him was the body of a woman, both dressed and naked. In all his works there is frank erotica. The canvas "Danae" by Gustav Klimt is no exception.
Brief Biographical Information
The future artist was born in a poor family of a goldsmith and gold engraver who did not have a permanent job. His father began to draw it, and then he continued his studies at the Vienna art and craft school, receiving a conservative academic education. However, the young artist began to write in a new Art Nouveau style with elements of eroticism, which caused a sharp criticism of customers who wanted to see his works in public buildings.
After that, the artist worked only with private individuals or created his canvases for the soul. Thus was born the "Danae" by Gustav Klimt (1907 - 1908) and many other works, for example, Judith, The Naked Truth, and The Kiss, which initially diverged from private collections.
The Golden Age of G. Klimt
The finest colorist, who had a luminiferous talent, leads a story with us that is far from rough everyday life. His best works are close to symbolism, which is best read through a very subtle eroticism, spilled over his works. In his world of pleasure and bliss, allegorical figures, beautiful women, expressive and vibrant landscapes, portraits that are in the heavenly ether, where there is no place for grief and deprivation, live. Beauty is the key definition for all paintings of the painter. She emerges from magical dreams, where women are like exotic flowers.
The artist’s perspective is almost always two-dimensional, the images are stylized, reminiscent of the
mosaics of Ravenna and Venice. They are decorated with floral or other ornaments, a lot of gilding and symbols are used, close to Byzantium. The most famous
painting of the artist of this time is “Kiss”, which combines both realism and exoticism. She can reveal to the viewer what true love is. The painting “Danae” (Gustav Klimt) belongs to the same period.
The plot of the work
He is widely known. On this subject, outstanding and truly ingenious painters painted a lot of paintings. But no one gave Danae such an interpretation of the image as Gustav Klimt.
In the Hellenic myths, Danae is the daughter of King Acrisius. The diviners guessed that he would die at the hands of his grandson. Therefore, the king imprisoned his lovely daughter and did not allow a single man to see her, and chastity was required from her daughter. This did not prevent the powerful Zeus, because for God there is nothing impossible to see a beautiful girl. He was immediately subdued by her beauty and fell in love with her.
What are the stone walls of the underground dungeon and the copper doors for the omnipotent and almighty god? To merge with the girl in a single burst of passion, Zeus came down on her with a golden rain. Gustav Klimt painted the picture on the love story of Zeus and the earthly girl Danae exactly as he saw it only. Only two characters are present in it. Now we will go on to analyze this work.
Gustav Klimt, “Danae”: description of the painting
In a very narrow, closed, dark space of the canvas there is not a single extra detail. Danae is forced to curl almost into a ball, which gives her pose a pronounced sexuality. We see the bliss on the face of a girl sleeping with fancy red hair. Her red lips are half open. They seem to be waiting for a kiss. Slender graceful fingers want to catch the elusive and hold a moment of passion right in a dream.
The proportions of the body are deliberately distorted. It is they who make The Danube (Gustav Klimt) an erotic picture. We see a small, apple-shaped chest, and in the foreground - a huge thigh. The artist closed the bosom of the virgin with a stream of golden rain, which descends in large drops.
Shamelessness in the picture of Gustav Klimt "Danae" no. There is only a fertilization scene, the very moment when a new life is emerging. The ornament of the picture, coupled with the golden rain, gives the scene an irrational and mystical meaning. Here, female sexuality acquired the maximum exaggeration from the artist. Femininity, previously isolated, in the picture is fully revealed. But thanks to the stylization, the distance between the image and the viewer is maintained. He is not an accomplice. He accidentally opened up a heavenly otherworldly phenomenon, which can cause sublime peace. Currently, the painting "Danae" is in the Wurthle Gallery in Vienna.