Ideas and Forms in Art: Stories on Love, War & Industry, and Women: A Gould Center Passion Project

The Kiss(es) Part 1

At first, I wanted to focus on The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. Then, I found a work of the same title and year that I wanted to compare. I never would have thought how many more pieces, how many more ways, artists choose to express a kiss. I couldn’t choose just one piece without acknowledging the existence of others. They all have the same title but are executed completely differently. It’s interesting to notice how a kiss has changed and stayed the same over time in these works.

First, Rodin (1889)
Thoughts: Classic. A muscular man and a defined woman enraptured with each other in the nude. I would expect this piece to have inspired modern day romantic movies and fairytales. 



Second, Munch (1897) 
Thoughts: One. I see a window and nothing else. It’s just them- their hands wrapped around the curves of one another. 



Into the 20th Century, Klimt (1907-08)
Thoughts: Glamorous. Together, they're in a field of flowers and colors. A woman embraced completely and a man completely entranced. Now, not every kiss looks like the one Klimt produced. During the same time, artist Constantin Brancusi gave us another kiss. Brancusi’s kiss is much different from Klimt’s in a lot of ways. See part two.

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