BELVEDERE, Klimt - The Kiss

The most interesting section of the exhibition is devoted to a series of celebrated works by masters such as Klimt, Kokoshka and Schiele. Some of these works were the object of an infamous court case, and were recently returned to the Jewish families they were taken from by the Nazis.

Especially important are the paintings by Gustav Klimt: landscapes, portraits, and intense, sensual allegorical scenes. A much-loved masterpiece of his is The Kiss, painted in 1909, at the height of the period when Klimt embellished his paintings by applying thin sheets of gold leaf. The two lovers, embracing and kissing, seem isolated from the real world, immersed in an other-worldly dimension of emotions, feelings and abandonment. The man has his head bent toward his beloved; all we can see of him is his thick black hair, strong neck, and a small portion of his face. His large, strong, manly hands are squeezing the woman very gently, in a protective, gentle, affectionate embrace. The woman has her eyes closed, completely absorbed in the tender, poignant embrace. Her right hand is almost abandoned on the neck of her beloved, while her left hand is caressing his....