Symbolism & Aestheticism · 1907

The Kiss

Gustav Klimt 1862–1918

The Kiss (1907) by Gustav Klimt. Its palette is led by golden umber (#89753f, 48%) and light amber gold (#c8ad4e, 17%), with accents of light yellow, purplish violet and dark umber. Overall the canvas is light, vivid and warm.

Color notes

Painted in oil with real gold leaf, at the height of Klimt's golden phase.

In his “golden phase” Klimt applied real gold leaf, inspired by the Byzantine mosaics he saw in Ravenna in 1903. The Kiss and the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer are its best-known works.

Palette

#89753f MG 183 golden umber 47.8% of canvas
#8fa666 MG 044 light yellow 17.1% of canvas
#c8ad4e MG 037 light amber gold 16.7% of canvas
#635125 MG 179 rich ochre 7.2% of canvas
#bcb08f MG 172 oatmeal 5.4% of canvas
#856294 MG 134 purplish violet 3.4% of canvas
#342d24 MG 186 dark umber 2.4% of canvas

Color families

Yellow 47%, Brown 41%, Green 5%, Gray 2%, Blue 1%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.62
Contrast: 0.30
Vividness: 0.081
Warmth: +0.97
Complexity: 133 cells
Hue range: 0.45
Focus: 0.04

Composition

52% of the visual weight is in the right half, 52% in the upper half. Symmetry 0.67 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 39% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 28% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1907
Medium: Oil and gold leaf on canvas
Size: 180.0 × 180.0 cm
Genre: portrait
Collection: Belvedere, Vienna

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