The Kiss: An Iconic Image of Love and Romance

Gustav Klimt was an Austrian painter. He was known for his remarkable, highly personal, and eclectic style. He was considered to be ahead of his time and one day he created one of the most popular paintings in the world: The Kiss

Klimt’s most popular work, The Kiss has life-size figures as the painting is 180 cm high and 180 cm wide. It is decorated with gold leaves, vivid colors, and a warm embrace. Two figures entwined in both tender and eternal embrace have been reproduced and imitated repeatedly over time and become iconic image of love and romance.

There are several theories about the man and the woman in the painting embracing each other intimately. While the painting was thought to be describing a kiss between Klimt himself and his beloved Emilie Flöge, some historians argue that this painting may been influenced by Greek myths.

Some historians suggest that the painting might be a depiction of the story of Apollo and Daphne. Apollo falls in love with Daphne, Daphne refuses him. Apollo begins to chase her. When he finally catches her, she prays to the gods to turn her into a laurel tree. Even though Daphne is transformed into a laurel tree, Apollo keeps embracing her. When looking closely at the painting, the female figure looks as if her feet are planted on the earth with the golden vines wrapping around her legs, just like a laurel tree holding onto the earth with its roots. 

The other mythological love story that possibly influenced Klimt while creating his painting The Kiss may have been the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, according to other historians. Orpheus falls in love with Eurydice and decides to marry her. One day a snake bites Eurydice and she dies. Orpheus descends into the realm of the dead to bring Eurydice back to life. Hades will let Eurydice turn back to the land of the living on one condition, Orpheus must walk ahead of her and not look back until they reach the upper world. Unfortunately, he looks back for his bride and loses her forever. Many historians suggest that The Kiss reflects just the moment when Orpheus looks back for Eurydice as in the painting the face of the female figure is slightly translucent. 

The Kiss one of the most iconic and popular paintings in the world is created by Gustav Klimt. This painting is the last piece he created in his Gold Phase. The audience was astounded when the painting was first displayed. Still, it attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year as an iconic image of romantic love.