Where Is Death and Life? See It at Belvedere Museum

Q: Where can I see Death and Life?

It's at the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, Austria. Gustav Klimt began it around 1908 and reworked it significantly in 1915. It won first prize at the International Art Exhibition in Rome in 1911.

Q: What does the painting depict?

On the left, a grinning skeleton draped in a patterned cloth represents Death. On the right, a cluster of human figures of all ages (a baby, lovers, an old woman, a young mother) are entwined in sleep or embrace, representing Life. The two sides face each other across a dark void.

Q: How does this differ from Klimt's gold paintings?

Klimt made this after his Golden Phase ended. The palette is darker and more somber. Death's robe uses colorful crosses and geometric patterns instead of gold leaf. The human figures are wrapped in floral fabrics. The style is more expressionistic than decorative.

Q: How big is Death and Life?

It measures 178 cm × 198 cm (70.1 × 78 inches). Klimt originally painted the background gold, then repainted it a dark blue-gray in 1915. X-ray analysis shows the original gold underneath. The change gave the painting a more serious, wartime mood.

Q: What art movement is this?

It belongs to Symbolism and the Vienna Secession movement. The allegorical subject (Death facing Life) is a classic Symbolist theme. Klimt's decorative treatment of the figures' clothing connects it to Art Nouveau, while the emotional intensity points toward Expressionism.

Gustav Klimt worked on Death and Life from 1910 until 1916, reworking it several times despite winning a gold medal at the 1911 Rome exhibition. The composition divides into two halves. On the left, a skeletal figure wrapped in a cloak patterned with black crosses grips a club. On the right, a tangle of human bodies represents the full cycle of existence: babies, young lovers, mothers, elderly women, all intertwined.

Originally titled simply "Death," Klimt expanded the concept as he revised it. He repainted the gold background with bluish-gray, added more female figures to the Life group, and gave Death direct eye contact with the living. At 180 by 200 centimeters, it's the second-largest surviving painting from his career.

Klimt described this as his most important figurative work. It hangs at the Leopold Museum in Vienna, a fitting home given the city's role in his artistic development. The painting bridges his decorative Golden Period with his later, more expressionistic style.

It's at the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, Austria. Gustav Klimt began it around 1908 and reworked it significantly in 1915. It won first prize at the International Art Exhibition in Rome in 1911.

On the left, a grinning skeleton draped in a patterned cloth represents Death. On the right, a cluster of human figures of all ages (a baby, lovers, an old woman, a young mother) are entwined in sleep or embrace, representing Life. The two sides face each other across a dark void.

Klimt made this after his Golden Phase ended. The palette is darker and more somber. Death's robe uses colorful crosses and geometric patterns instead of gold leaf. The human figures are wrapped in floral fabrics. The style is more expressionistic than decorative.

It measures 178 cm × 198 cm (70.1 × 78 inches). Klimt originally painted the background gold, then repainted it a dark blue-gray in 1915. X-ray analysis shows the original gold underneath. The change gave the painting a more serious, wartime mood.

It belongs to Symbolism and the Vienna Secession movement. The allegorical subject (Death facing Life) is a classic Symbolist theme. Klimt's decorative treatment of the figures' clothing connects it to Art Nouveau, while the emotional intensity points toward Expressionism.

Death and Life

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Gustav Klimt

Female organ player

Draft of a theater curtain

Portrait of a lady

Head Study of a Girl from Haná

Also at Belvedere Museum

Female organ player

Fog

Self portrait at the age of 35

The Kiss

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Self-Portrait with Mirror

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Lemminkäinen's Mother

Rustic Life

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Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889

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