Gustav Klimt
1862 – 1918
Austrian

Metallic hues, areas of detail, distinctive backgrounds, and symbolism are all key stylistic components of Gustav Klimt’s work.  His paintings and murals provoked opposition in his day, but are widely popular now, and they have become some of the most expensive in the world. He was inspired by Byzantine artwork, and used a lot of symbolism in his images, such as the one below.

Read:

Note to parents: If you plan to get library books to round out your studies, you will probably want to stick to the children’s section and pre-view them.  Klimt’s primary subject was the female body.  The books below are ones that my crew enjoyed.

• Klimt and His Cat by Berenice Capatti does a great job of reviewing Klimt’s life.
• Gustav Klimt: A Painted Fairy Tale by Stephan Koja is a fun glimpse at Klimt’s most famous works. {affiliate links}

Create:

We had fun creating this fun display for our local emergency room.  It is inspired by Klimt’s Tree of Life murals.

In order to complete this activity, each student will need the following items:

• Sharpie marker black –  only needed to write name on back of artwork
• embossing foil 5×5 inch square (can be any color)
• pencil or wooden skewer
• sheet of scrap paper
• scotch tape
• 2 felt sheets, assorted colors, 9″x12″ – these are only for pressing on 

Consider hanging your metal embossing as is, or use it to decorate a  greeting cards for your friends.  Just make sure to cut your metal before embossing it, or the scissors will distort your image.

In the News:

A  treasure trove of artwork, was recently discovered hidden in a German apartment.  More than 1,400 pieces of art were seized from Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of a Nazi art dealer.  It is expected that the works total over $1,000,000,000.00.  As this story plays out, it will be interesting to see what happens with these works as some could possibly have been looted from the Jews during WWII.  The statute of limitations has technically passed, but the true ownership of these pieces is sure to be of great debate.  (Parents, this link contains advertisements in the sidebar.  Please preview to discern whether this is appropriate for your children)

Consider:

Klimt love to use symbols in his work, and it is easy to find similar symbols all around us.The language of the Bible is rich with metaphor.  Jesus presented himself as a shepherd, sower, light, bread, water, and much more.  What does it all mean?

The value of a symbol is it’s ability to compress a lot of information into a simple concept.  It helps us to not only understand, but retain that information.  Everyone understands the job of a shepherd includes caring, directing, grooming, shearing, leading, and protecting.  This word picture gives us far greater depth of understanding of the love of of God for his people than a list of characteristics ever could.  Check it out for yourself: John 10