Die Braut (unfinished) - Gustav Klimt
(1917/1918)
Oil on Canvas, 166 x 190 cm
Private Collection
This unfinished oil by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, was found on his easel after his death in 1918. The discovery of this painting lead to some important insights about Klimt's style and painting methods. The picture is overflowing with warm reds, browns, and oranges, in the swirling patterns that were Klimt's trademark. The focus of the painting is the bride, standing in the middle of the canvas. Her head is tilted to the left, perhaps lost in a day dream of her wedding night. This pose holds close resemblance to Klimt's earlier work 'The Maiden'. Some say that the bridegroom in the artwork may be an indirect portrait of Klimt himself, demonstrating his seductive power over women. The mans face does look remarkably similar to Klimt's own.
An important feature of Klimt's art, which was uncovered by this painting, (and which would be brought into light if the layers of paint were stripped from Klimt's many female portraits), is that Gustav Klimt drew his women naked, before covering them in dresses of paint. The incompleteness of this piece demonstrates this in great detail. The woman on the right of the cavas is naked, only partially covered by the brightly coloured frock Klimt was painting over her bare form. Her legs are spread apart, to display a carefully painted pubic region. Klimt put much effort, and painstaking detail into these nudes prior to painting.