Sea Dean - Paint a Masterpiece: FAMOUS ARTISTS BIRTHDAY - GUSTAV KLIMT - SYMBOLIST

Monday 13 July 2015

FAMOUS ARTISTS BIRTHDAY - GUSTAV KLIMT - SYMBOLIST - SUN GAZER ACEO

Adele Bloch-Bauer I, which sold for a record $135 million in 2006, Neue Galerie, New York

Gustav Klimt was born July 14, 1862 in Baumgarten near Vienna, Austria. Ernst Klimt, his father, was a gold engraver formerly from Bohemia. Klimt was a symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement.

Klimt took his father's love of gold into the painting world. Any painter that has tried to emulate Klimt, knows how difficult it is to include iridescent paint and gold leaf in a painting; it either looks too garish or cartoon like. Although I'm still experimenting, I am also a jeweler, turned fine artist, and I long to include shiny texture in my work. I think the trick is to apply texture to the canvas before the gold.

I don't actually remember seeing a Klimt in a gallery, although I'm sure I must have, possibly before I became a fine artist. Looking at this painting I can see a lot of texture and I would be extremely interested in how he achieved the effect. A bit quirky, but here is a YouTube video which attempts to explain.

The painting above has also been aptly named "The Woman in Gold". It has been described as the final and most representative work of Klimts gold phase and if I had $135 million I would buy it too. See more here.

I'm always interested in the chemical properties of the paints and additives I'm using and I investigated gilding size which is the glue used to adhere the leaf. I found this information with Google and you will be as surprised as I was to learn it is made from gelatin. Gelatin is manufactured from animal bones and other parts processed to extract the hydrolyzed collagen, therefore non-vegetarian and non kosher.

Klimt died February 6, 1918 at only 56 years of age.

SUN GAZER ACEO

This ACEO was an experiment to duplicate the look of Verre Eglomise which is a golden effect on glass. The horse is after the style of Franz Marc, my favourite painter. The ACEO is sold unframed at Daily Paintworks, but contact me if you would like it matted and framed as well.