August 18th

The Kiss- Gustav Klimt- Belvedere art gallery

Judith with head of Holofernes- Gustav Klimt- Belvedere art gallery

Grand Marble Hall- belvedere

Today was our guided tour of the Belvedere Palace, courtesy of Dr. O. The summer palace of Eugene of Savoy, construction on the Belvedere Palace began in 1721 and in just two years, was fully constructed. Lucas Von Hildebrandt was the architect whom Prince Eugene fully entrusted with the grand project. Even though Hildebrandt had everything he needed to construct the palace, the fact that it only took two years to complete is simply astounding, considering they have been trying to fix the fountains out in front of the upper Belvedere for three years now. It was interesting to see how Hildebrandt incorporated Prince Eugene’s victory over the Turks in 1683. Hildenbrandt carved Turkish figures into the walls, forcing them to hold up the roof of the Belvedere much like Atlas holds the world on his shoulders in Greek mythology. In this way their defeat in 1683 will forever be immortalized. Standing in the Grand Marble Hall, the grandeur of the baroque style of the palace is clearly shown. The ceilings are done by the Italian painter Carlone, and are done in such a way to mess with your perspective. The ceilings seem to be very high until you actually go up several floors and can peer out and see that the ceilings are not as high up. In Steven Beller's Concise history of Austria, he interprets the Baroque in Austria as being defined by Italian art that was put into service of the Hapsburg dynasty. The Belvedere blends this together seamlessly to give you a definitive Baroque style. The wide mirrors and rich marble sculptures adorn the walls of this room. The elegant chandeliers hang in the room glistening with the light that emanates into the palace. This was all about making an individual feel small when they walked into this grand hall in the Belvedere because baroque architecture is meant to make you feel that way and is no surprise that Baroque has come to be associated with imperial wealth and absolutism. The works by Gustav Klimt were absolutely exquisite because of the rich detail and use of gold in the finished works. The crazy part is that Klimt was asked by the university of Vienna for samples of his works and they rejected him, thinking he didn’t possess the qualities that would make him a successful artist.  I took an art history class before I transferred to Davis at my community college and I remember seeing  Judith with the head of Holofernes and The Kiss. I never thought that I would see any of those works in person but here I am in the Belvedere art gallery, staring face to face at these famous works. It is interesting when you hear that Klimt thought that women were very mysterious and that men were putty in the arms of a beautiful woman. This is most evident in The Kiss as we looked upon the work. Some people thought the woman was enjoying the passionate kiss; others thought she didn’t want to be bothered by her male companion’s display of affection. I truly believe that If Klimt thought heavily about the feminine mystique, he wanted to portray her in such a way that the audience looking at the painting has no idea what is going through her mind. This made The Kiss one of the more fascinating pieces of art to look at because you can get an idea as to how Klimt wanted to paint it, but it is also so open to individual interpretation which makes it such an interesting piece of art to look at and discuss.