{"id":1119,"date":"2019-08-03T05:59:11","date_gmt":"2019-08-03T04:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=1119"},"modified":"2025-11-20T11:44:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T10:44:54","slug":"kiss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/kiss\/","title":{"rendered":"The Kiss by Klimt"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/kisssmall.jpg\" alt=\"Gustav Klimt's name\" class=\"wp-image-49806\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/kisssmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/kisssmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The official colours of Vienna are red and white. The unofficial ones are the black and gold colours of Gustav Klimt&#8217;s <em>The Kiss<\/em>: a truly iconic painting and probably the city&#8217;s greatest art treasure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Klimt&#8217;s most famous work, created 1907-1908<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Painting&#8217;s past is surprisingly uneventful<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On display at Upper Belvedere\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Open daily and hugely popular<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/belvedere-palace-tickets-l145892\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_KissVenue\" rel=\"sponsored\">Upper Belvedere tickets<\/a>*<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tip: advance booking a time slot avoids a possible wait<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/top-10-art\/\">Best art in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/gustav-klimt\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2264\">Klimt in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Jump to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#how-can-i-see-the-kiss\">How to see it<\/a> (location and viewing tips)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Quick Upper Belvedere tickets<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Booking service provided by Tiqets.com*, who I am an affiliate of)<\/p><div data-tiqets-widget=\"availability\" data-layout=\"full\" data-venue-id=\"145892\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-tq-campaign=\"AW_BelVenue\"><\/div><script defer src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:35px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-painting\">The painting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Klimt&#8217;s <em>The Kiss<\/em> seems to be everywhere in Vienna. For example, it&#8217;s nudged Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth aside in the souvenir shops. And anything Klimt-related usually has the painting front and centre.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"406\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/The-Kiss-1.jpg\" alt=\"The Kiss \u00a9 Belvedere, Wien\" class=\"wp-image-13550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/The-Kiss-1.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/The-Kiss-1-296x300.jpg 296w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The Kiss; public domain image courtesy of Belvedere\u2019s Open Content Policy)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This presence has a perfectly good reason, though: experts consider the 1907\/1908 work to be the most iconic example of Austria&#8217;s Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the painting&#8217;s fame has long gone global: <em>The Kiss<\/em> has caught the imagination of the world. It&#8217;s not unusual to find it sitting alongside <em>The Scream<\/em>, <em>Girl with a Pearl Earring<\/em> and similar in lists of history&#8217;s top art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The golden couple first appeared in public at a 1908 exhibition organised around Klimt and colleagues; the &#8220;Kunstschau&#8221; featured many of the stalwarts of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/wiener-moderne\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"28303\">Wiener Moderne movement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the works on display and for sale that day: a composition by Klimt named <em>Lovers<\/em> (the original title for <em>The Kiss<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"366\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/KlimtandFloge.jpg\" alt=\"Gustav Klimt and Emilie Fl\u00f6ge\" class=\"wp-image-35614\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/KlimtandFloge.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/KlimtandFloge-300x220.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Unknown photographer, Gustav Klimt and Emilie Fl\u00f6ge in a boat on the Attersee lake in 1909, not long after completion of the Kiss, Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 157540; reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Such a painting deserves a mysterious and troubled history of purchases, with the occasional theft and an unexpected discovery in an abandoned loft thrown in for good measure. I fear the reality is far more banal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Ministry of Culture and Education (Ministerium f\u00fcr Kultus und Unterricht) bought the picture for the state&#8217;s Moderne Galerie collection at Lower Belvedere palace in Vienna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that was more or less it, because it&#8217;s still at Belvedere (albeit at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/upper-belvedere-palace\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"3521\">Upper Palace<\/a> now).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Klimt already has a couple of works in the list of the world&#8217;s most expensive paintings. In 2025, for example, his <em>Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer<\/em> sold for over US$235 million, making it the second most expensive painting ever sold at auction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With at least one less-well-known Klimt work insured for US$300 million for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/klimt-exhibition-inspired\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"54513\">a special exhibition<\/a> at Belvedere, you can only begin to imagine how much <em>The Kiss<\/em> is now worth.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/klimtkittelnew.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"350\" height=\"424\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/klimtkittelnew.jpg\" alt=\"Smock worn by Gustav Klimt\" class=\"wp-image-69357\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/klimtkittelnew.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/klimtkittelnew-248x300.jpg 248w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Gustav Klimt\u2019s painter\u2019s smock from around 1905; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. M 8641, Photo: Birgit und Peter Kainz, Wien Museum; reproduced under the terms of the <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY 4.0 license<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I once asked a Belvedere gallery guide what it would sell for, and she just laughed hysterically. She also suggested a sale was rather unlikely unless Austria&#8217;s national debt takes a remarkable turn for the worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nevertheless, you can actually &#8220;own&#8221; part of the painting by buying one ten-thousandth of the official digitised image from Belvedere as an NFT. Last time I checked, pieces were <a href=\"https:\/\/thekiss.art\/\">still available<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or you could simply buy a postcard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-can-i-see-the-kiss\">How can I see the Kiss?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The painting hangs on display in Vienna&#8217;s Belvedere complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The institution has several locations, but as mentioned earlier, you want&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/upper-belvedere-palace\/\">Upper Belvedere palace<\/a>; <em>The Kiss<\/em> makes up part of the permanent exhibition there.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/belvederechristmasnight.jpg\" alt=\"Belvedere Christmas market scenic view\" class=\"wp-image-53925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/belvederechristmasnight.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/belvederechristmasnight-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The rather fine home of <em>The Kiss<\/em> with a Christmas market outside)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You likely won&#8217;t be the only ones trying to see the masterpiece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is pretty much the most famous artwork in the entire country. Prepare to do battle by smartphone if you pick the wrong time to view it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the crowds are nothing like those you get for the <em>Mona Lisa<\/em> at the Louvre. And <em>The Kiss<\/em> is quite large &#8211; about 1.8m by 1.8m &#8211; so easily admired from a little distance, if necessary. To be honest, I&#8217;ve never had a problem viewing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tickets\">Tickets and visitor tips<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Here my recommendations for visiting Upper Belvedere and Klimt&#8217;s prestigious work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Such is the interest in the paintings at Belvedere that the museum introduced time slots to manage the visitor numbers. So&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Buy a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/belvedere-palace-tickets-l145892\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_KissVenue\" rel=\"sponsored\">ticket in advance<\/a>*: then you can book a date and time slot that&#8217;s best for you. (I&#8217;d pick an early time so you have fewer visitors competing for space)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>There&#8217;s a small risk that if you buy at the door, your allocated slot may involve a wait, especially during busy times of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, if you prefer to buy on site and want a gentler viewing experience, consider these three tips&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Avoid weekends and holiday periods<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go early. I&#8217;ve often gone to Belvedere just after it opens and enjoyed quiet, even around <em>The Kiss<\/em> and even at relatively popular times of year<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pick the right season: slower periods for tourism are:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Mid-January through to a couple of weeks before Easter<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A week or two after Easter through to early\/mid June<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>September, October and early November before the advent markets open<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I say &#8220;slower&#8221; rather than &#8220;slow&#8221; because Vienna has become a popular destination throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, if you happen to be at Belvedere on February 14th, then you might find a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/valentines-day\/#valentine\">special offer for couples<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">While you&#8217;re there<\/h4>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"399\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/klimtamalie.jpg\" alt=\"Gustav Klimt's portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl\" class=\"wp-image-67777\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/klimtamalie.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/klimtamalie-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/klimtamalie-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/klimtamalie-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Gustav Klimt\u2019s unfinished portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl from 1918. One of many of his works in the Belvedere collection; press photo: Johannes Stoll \/ Belvedere, Vienna)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don&#8217;t leave Upper Belvedere, of course, without taking a look around the permanent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/gustav-klimt-belvedere\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"3544\">Vienna 1900 exhibition<\/a> and other exhibition areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Expect a whole number of other works by Klimt. These include the almost-but-not-quite-as-famous-as-the-Kiss <em>Judith<\/em>, though that particular painting sometimes goes out on loan for exhibitions elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The permanent collection also features art by, for example, Schiele, Rodin, Kokoschka, Munch, and Makart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep an eye out, as well, for any of Messerschmidt&#8217;s astonishing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/franz-xaver-messerschmidt\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"3650\">character heads<\/a> that might be on display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On top of that, you may find some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/exhibitions\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"37363\">special exhibitions<\/a> at Belvedere (perhaps including a Klimt-themed one), and all with a serious dose of gorgeous baroque architecture thrown in for good measure!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re still up for more Klimt paintings or tracing his biography after your Belvedere visit, then I have various tips for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/gustav-klimt\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2264\">other Viennese locations<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Definitely consider the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/leopold-museum\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"4014\">Leopold Museum<\/a>, for example, which has a significant number of works on display in their excellent permanent exhibition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The official colours of Vienna are red and white. The unofficial ones are the black and gold colours of Gustav Klimt&#8217;s The Kiss: a truly iconic painting and probably the city&#8217;s greatest art treasure. Jump to: The painting Klimt&#8217;s The Kiss seems to be everywhere in Vienna. For example, it&#8217;s nudged Emperor Franz Joseph and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49806,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1119","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-belvedere-sites","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1119"}],"version-history":[{"count":52,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87218,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1119\/revisions\/87218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}