{"id":3544,"date":"2016-07-28T10:59:11","date_gmt":"2016-07-28T09:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=3544"},"modified":"2025-10-22T11:25:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T10:25:18","slug":"gustav-klimt-belvedere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/gustav-klimt-belvedere\/","title":{"rendered":"Gustav Klimt and Vienna 1900"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/klimt1900small.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/klimt1900small.jpg\" alt=\"Excerpt from Klimt's painting of Serena Pulitzer Lederer at the Met\" class=\"wp-image-51015\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/klimt1900small.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/klimt1900small-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>What are the world&#8217;s most famous paintings? Good question. All I know is when you walk up the grand staircase of Upper Belvedere palace, you&#8217;re just a few steps from one of them: Gustav Klimt&#8217;s <em>The Kiss<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>World-leading collection of Klimt paintings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Masterpieces by the likes of Schiele &amp; Rodin<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Thematic galleries create an enlightening experience<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Belvedere is a dynamic museum, so the actual works on display may change!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/belvedere-palace-tickets-l145892\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_BelVenue\" rel=\"sponsored\">Upper Belvedere tickets<\/a>* to ensure a convenient time slot<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/upper-belvedere-palace\/\">Upper Belvedere info &amp; overview<\/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\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/kiss\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1119\">All about <em>The Kiss<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The exhibition<\/h2>\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=\"\" 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\">(<em>The Kiss<\/em> by Gustav Klimt. The painting that launched a thousand souvenir shops. Photo courtesy of Belvedere&#8217;s Open Content Policy)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The gallery rooms displaying the <em>Vienna 1900<\/em> and Klimt collections curl around the first floor of Upper Belvedere palace, beginning just off the glorious Marble Hall and returning you to the giant staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each gallery presents a theme, reflected in the choice of art displayed within.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though broadly chronological, one theme might be <em>The Secession<\/em>, another <em>Psyche and Provocation<\/em> (this is where you know some serious art lies ahead).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The collection takes you through Viennese art at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/wiener-moderne\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"28303\">turn of the century<\/a>: from the late 1800s to the transition toward modernity. And all with a significant presence for works by Gustav Klimt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Such an extraordinary era makes for an extraordinary exhibition, which is why most visitors tend to congregate in this area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I find it hard to pick out the highlights. But I&#8217;ll simply mention some personal ones&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Klimt<\/h2>\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&#8217;s unfinished portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl from 1918; press photo: Johannes Stoll \/ Belvedere, Vienna)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nowhere in the world can offer Klimt quite like the Belvedere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I counted around a dozen paintings in passing on my last visit (and I&#8217;ve seen 16 at other times), though a nice golden painting tucked away in one room caught my particular attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Actually, you&#8217;ll likely spot <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/kiss\/\">The Kiss<\/a> through the numerous smartphones held in front of it. There is something decidedly thrilling about standing so close to such an iconic and world-famous image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The painting stands within a stark, black frame, pulling your eyes around its component parts. If Austria ever runs up too much public debt, this one painting alone might clear it for them.<\/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\/2024\/10\/belvederekissexhibitionview.jpg\" alt=\"View of an art exhibition\" class=\"wp-image-76901\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/belvederekissexhibitionview.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/belvederekissexhibitionview-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\">(<em>The Kiss<\/em> occupies pride of place in the exhibition; press photo: Lukas Schaller \/ Belvedere, Wien)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Incidentally, if you&#8217;re here on Valentine&#8217;s Day, Belvedere typically offers couples a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/valentines-day\/#valentine\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"67994\">special photographic treat<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other works by Klimt also deserve your attention, though. His wonderful <em>Judith<\/em> from 1901, for example, casts her arrogant eyes across one room, though she sometimes disappears for exhibitions elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tip: if you want to find other Klimt works in Vienna, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/gustav-klimt\/\">see this guide<\/a>, which also mentions notable special exhibitions featuring his art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><em>Ad:<\/em><br><\/div><div data-tiqets-widget=\"discovery\" data-cards-layout=\"horizontal\" data-content-type=\"product\" data-content-ids=\"974613,1025105\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-tq-campaign=\"DA_Belvedere\"><\/div><script defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Portraits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Vienna 1900 section also includes a number of startling portraits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Egon Schiele&#8217;s 1910 <em>Eduard Kosmack<\/em>. The sitter&#8217;s intense gaze seems to penetrate into your very soul. Which is rather alarming when you&#8217;re enjoying a nice day in Vienna and looking forward to an ice cream<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Richard Gerstl&#8217;s 1907\/1908 portrait of himself laughing. As you might expect, not a blithe, easygoing kind of laugh at all for this tortured creator<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Kolomon Moser&#8217;s own self-portrait from around 1915. Another set of eyes that has you looking over your shoulder<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"402\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/upperbelvedereart4.jpg\" alt=\"Egon Schiele portrait\" class=\"wp-image-58819\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/upperbelvedereart4.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/upperbelvedereart4-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/upperbelvedereart4-100x100.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\">(<em>Eduard Kosmack<\/em> by Egon Schiele. Don&#8217;t switch the lights out after viewing. Public domain image courtesy of Belvedere\u2019s Open Content Policy)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And the rest&#8230;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Other works read like a who&#8217;s who of Austrian and international art in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Names like Rodin, Edvard Munch, Max Klinger, Oskar Kokoschka, Claude Monet, Hans Makart, and many more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So consider this section of Belvedere a treasure trove for those interested in the period of creative brilliance that was Viennese art around 1900.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, frankly, seeing <em>The Kiss<\/em> is worth the entrance ticket alone.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"327\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/upperbelvedereart3.jpg\" alt=\"Richard Gerstl self-portrait\" class=\"wp-image-58817\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/upperbelvedereart3.jpg 327w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/upperbelvedereart3-218x300.jpg 218w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 327px) 100vw, 327px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Richard Gerstl, self-portrait, &#8220;laughing&#8221; apparently, 1908; press photo: Belvedere, Wien)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bonus: the chapel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Incidentally, the gallery that once housed a library offers a peek down onto a small balcony that itself looks over the Belvedere chapel. The latter is small in size, but big on baroque splendour&#8230;rich in white, gold and brown marble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The balcony would be where Belvedere&#8217;s owner (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/prince-eugene-savoy\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"58031\">Prince Eugene<\/a>) could enjoy services privately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Piety is all well and good, but you wouldn&#8217;t want to get cold while saying your prayers: the balcony had its own fireplace to add a little warmth to religious proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This private space also meant, of course, that Eugene needn&#8217;t mix with the rabble below and could, presumably, throw fruit at itinerant members of his household staff if he got bored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have no historical evidence to suggest that the prince did this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I bet he thought about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next on your trip around Upper Belvedere: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/biedermeier-to-interwar\/\">Emerging Modernism and The Avant Garde<\/a> sections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are the world&#8217;s most famous paintings? Good question. All I know is when you walk up the grand staircase of Upper Belvedere palace, you&#8217;re just a few steps from one of them: Gustav Klimt&#8217;s The Kiss. The exhibition (The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. The painting that launched a thousand souvenir shops. Photo courtesy of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51015,"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-3544","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\/3544","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=3544"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86544,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3544\/revisions\/86544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}