Gustav Klimt and Japanese art in fin-de-siècle Vienna: deciphering Klimt's stylistic evolution

Abstract

"This probing and innovative monograph, based on interdisciplinary and multicultural approach, traces the trajectory of the Japanese influence on Klimt's heterogeneous and idiosyncratic oeuvre. Placing Klimt's experimentations with Japanese stimuli in a broad historical and cultural context, it unfolds a vibrant picture of the unprecedented creative dialogue and synthesis of Japanese models by one of the most important modernists. Closely investigating the intricate anatomy of Klimt's art, this ground-breaking project constructs a critical theory of the evolution of Klimt's style and is the first comprehensive study of the role of Japonisme in its genesis. Focusing on Klimt's experimentation with Japanese models, the book presents a multifaceted conception of Klimt's modernism, thereby providing an indispensable and vital account of Vienna 1900. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, Japanese studies and European studies"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents

Introduction -- The Weltausstellung 1873 in Vienna as a cultural watershed -- Avatar of Austrian Modernism: The road to the secession -- The theoretical steppingstones of Klimt's artistic transformation and his first programmatic paintings -- The aesthetic dialogue between Klimt and Hiroshige -- Japanese erotic prints and Klimt's visual reflections -- Metamorphoses: Portrait of Sonja Knips and Itō Jackuchū's print Golden Pheasant and Bamboo in Snow -- Shinto and beyond: Klimt's Portrait of Emilie Flöge and The Kiss -- The enduring necessity of reaffirming of Klimt's artistic principles and commitments -- Geometric engagement and symbolic transcendence in Klimt's portraiture -- Redressing modernity: The impact of the Kimono on Klimt's Oeuvre -- Requiem: Klimt'sseries of late paintings -- Conclusion: Klimt, the Sensei.