Symbolism & Aestheticism · 1905

The Three Ages of Woman

Gustav Klimt 1862–1918

The Three Ages of Woman (1905) by Gustav Klimt. Its palette is led by stone (#6b5f54, 32%) and golden umber (#8f8673, 26%), with accents of rich brown, indigo blue and dark blue. Overall the canvas is mid-toned, muted and warm.

Color note

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

#6b5f54 MG 175 stone 31.7% of canvas
#8f8673 MG 182 golden umber 26.1% of canvas
#2c2b2a MG 222 charcoal 25.9% of canvas
#b5b09f MG 172 oatmeal 12.3% of canvas
#854831 MG 159 rich brown 2.6% of canvas
#495ca3 MG 104 indigo blue 0.7% of canvas
#3f337b MG 107 dark blue 0.7% of canvas

Color families

Brown 65%, Gray 15%, Black 13%, Yellow 3%, Blue 2%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.50
Contrast: 0.47
Vividness: 0.026
Warmth: +0.73
Complexity: 187 cells
Hue range: 0.57
Focus: 0.17

Composition

51% of the visual weight is in the right half, 56% in the upper half. Symmetry 0.64 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 18% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 32% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1905
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 180.0 × 180.0 cm
Genre: allegory
Collection: Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Roma, Rome

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