Gustav Klimt's Biblical Women

Top: Adam and Eve                                                                                                                  Bottom: Judith

I have chosen to write about two paintings of biblical women done by Gustav Klimt. The style of these two paintings is different, but both depict these women from the bible in different ways than we have seen before. Looking at these paintings, both women are painted in an erotic way. Their femininity is very on display which can be seen by the way Klimt painted their bodies and the expressions on their faces. For both Eve and Judith, Klimt paints them in an untraditional way from the typical depictions of their stories. Eve is shown as the temptress and is surrounded by symbols that signify fertility and unbridled desire. Adam takes the backseat being shown only as Eve's lover. In Judith, the name of the painting is simply "Judith." There is no mention of Holofernes, and you have to really look at the painting to see Holofernes' head in the bottom right. Klimt paints both of these biblical women front and center in their own story, signifying that they are the most important figure.

Throughout his career, Gustav Klimt became extremely well known as a "painter of women," and in these two paintings it is easy to see that this title was well deserved. These paintings challenge the conventional views of these bible stories and change the narrative for the women involved. Eve and Judith both become their own complex character, with emotions and feelings, rather than just a passive figure. These paintings are also modern for their time because the sensuality of these women is easy to see. The nude is no longer serving the purpose of women being an object, but rather it becomes a symbol of their empowerment. For the art world, Klimt's paintings emphasized the emotions of his subjects and built a bride between classic and modern art. His influence continues to be seen today. 

Gustav Klimt was an Austrian artist who worked in/out of Vienna. He lived his life and made his career in this incredible cultural capital, and his influence in the art world lives on here today. Klimt was a leader of the Vienna Secession which challenged the traditional art of the time and changed the way that artists created and expressed themselves. These paintings are just two examples of the works that he created that reflect the art culture that permeated Vienna during this time. It was a time of experimentation and discourse. Klimt's paintings were subject to a lot of criticism due to their pornographic nature, but his representations of women are unique for their time and are an example of the art and culture that are inherent to Vienna.