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The tree of life (fragment for the frieze of the Stoclet Palace)
Gustav Klimt • Painting, 1905, 138.8×102 cm
Description of the artwork «The tree of life (fragment for the frieze of the Stoclet Palace)»
By the beginning of the 20th century, Gustav Klimt had already fully formed as an artist with his own style. His works were popular among the public and art connoisseurs; many customers dreamed of becoming the owners of a masterpiece from Klimt. Some of them succeeded, and one of these lucky ones was the banker from Vienna, Adolph Stoclet. It was in his Brussels mansion that a painting by Gustav Klimt appeared, known all over the world under the name “Tree of Life», With a description of which we invite you to familiarize yourself.
In 1904, Stoclet set about realizing his dream - building his own palace. It was designed as a large, three-storey building of cubic rooms with white marble cladding. To decorate the palace, the banker invited artists from the Vienna Workshops association. Among them was Gustav Klimt.
Without limiting the artists in any way, Stoclet gave them complete freedom of action. Work on the painting "The Tree of Life" by Gustav Klimt began in 1905. The artist decided to decorate the dining room of the mansion with his works and created a complex composition of 9 parts, which is now called the Stoclet frieze. The centerpiece of this composition is the "Tree of Life" tapestry.
The viewer sees a mosaic of amazing beauty: a large tree spreads its branches on the snow-white marble, shimmering with the radiance of gems and a golden sheen. It is made in the style of a patchwork quilt, beloved by Klimt, stylized in an oriental manner - the owner of the palace was a passionate admirer of the art of the East. The symbolism of this work has something in common with the plots of many mythologies of the peoples of the world: almost everywhere, including the Bible, there is an image of the universal Tree, which is associated with life, knowledge, family, and the continuity of generations.
Spiral-shaped branches circle the viewer in a swift dance, whispering to him about the infinity of life as such, on each of them there are dozens of young shoots, crowned with bizarre fruits. The soft golden color scheme of the tapestry "The Tree of Life" gives this dance a light solemnity, and only one dark spot darkens the celebration of life - the figurine of a black bird, the messenger of death, located on one of the lower branches. This is a kind of reminder that just as life is impossible without death, so death always goes alongside life.
The painting "The Tree of Life" by Gustav Klimt was of particular importance for the author: the artist considered it one of his best decorative works. After six years of painstaking work, all 9 elements of Stoclet's frieze, including the Tree of Life, were completed. This order was the last large-scale work of Klimt - after him the artist returned to painting female portraits and landscapes.
Today, the painting "The Tree of Life", created in the "golden" period of creativity of Gustav Klimt, is in the same place - in the Stoclet mansion. The owners of the palace are the descendants of the collector banker. In 2009, the building was awarded the status of a World Heritage Site and was included in the UNESCO list. The mansion is closed for tourists, so the true connoisseurs of Klimt's work can only admire the reproductions made from his golden Tree of Life.
In 1904, Stoclet set about realizing his dream - building his own palace. It was designed as a large, three-storey building of cubic rooms with white marble cladding. To decorate the palace, the banker invited artists from the Vienna Workshops association. Among them was Gustav Klimt.
Without limiting the artists in any way, Stoclet gave them complete freedom of action. Work on the painting "The Tree of Life" by Gustav Klimt began in 1905. The artist decided to decorate the dining room of the mansion with his works and created a complex composition of 9 parts, which is now called the Stoclet frieze. The centerpiece of this composition is the "Tree of Life" tapestry.
The viewer sees a mosaic of amazing beauty: a large tree spreads its branches on the snow-white marble, shimmering with the radiance of gems and a golden sheen. It is made in the style of a patchwork quilt, beloved by Klimt, stylized in an oriental manner - the owner of the palace was a passionate admirer of the art of the East. The symbolism of this work has something in common with the plots of many mythologies of the peoples of the world: almost everywhere, including the Bible, there is an image of the universal Tree, which is associated with life, knowledge, family, and the continuity of generations.
Spiral-shaped branches circle the viewer in a swift dance, whispering to him about the infinity of life as such, on each of them there are dozens of young shoots, crowned with bizarre fruits. The soft golden color scheme of the tapestry "The Tree of Life" gives this dance a light solemnity, and only one dark spot darkens the celebration of life - the figurine of a black bird, the messenger of death, located on one of the lower branches. This is a kind of reminder that just as life is impossible without death, so death always goes alongside life.
The painting "The Tree of Life" by Gustav Klimt was of particular importance for the author: the artist considered it one of his best decorative works. After six years of painstaking work, all 9 elements of Stoclet's frieze, including the Tree of Life, were completed. This order was the last large-scale work of Klimt - after him the artist returned to painting female portraits and landscapes.
Today, the painting "The Tree of Life", created in the "golden" period of creativity of Gustav Klimt, is in the same place - in the Stoclet mansion. The owners of the palace are the descendants of the collector banker. In 2009, the building was awarded the status of a World Heritage Site and was included in the UNESCO list. The mansion is closed for tourists, so the true connoisseurs of Klimt's work can only admire the reproductions made from his golden Tree of Life.
