The Kiss

c. 1907–09

Oil and metal leaf on canvas, 180 × 180 cm. Upper Belvedere, Vienna

Two lovers embrace at the edge of a flowered meadow, wrapped together in one golden cloak. She kneels with eyes closed as he bends to kiss her cheek.

Gold leaf and dense pattern press the figures flat against a shimmering ground. Ornament does more than decorate here: it builds the space and binds the couple together.
It was first shown, still unfinished, at the 1908 Kunstschau exhibition in Vienna.
Look at his robe of black and white rectangles against her circles and flowers.
The figures carry gold, silver and platinum leaf over a background of brass and metal flakes.
Austria's Ministry for Culture and Education bought it in 1908–09, in the artist's lifetime.

Gold mosaics the artist saw in Ravenna, Italy, are often linked to this golden phase. The picture was first shown simply as Lovers, a title the museum still records.

Image: Wikimedia Commons · PD-Art