Ádám és Éva

Közzététel dátuma: Nov 02, 2020 1:12:20 PM

1917-1918

This painting left incomplete at Klimt's death takes a symbolic significance for its biblical subject as well as Eve's facial rendering, with her reclined head and a sweet yet enigmagtic smile. The lower section, with its flowers and background decorativism, is typical of Klimt; the upper section, where the figures are contraposed to a monochrome backdrop, reveals a synthesis of strained lines closer to Schiele's style.

There are several aspects of "Adam and Eve" that distinguish it from the rest of Klimt's oeuvre. Thematically, it was an extension of the many versions of The Kiss and the preliminary drawings indicate that the composition evolved directly from these earlier works. However, whereas in all the incarnations of "The Kiss" the man dominates, here it is Eve who is pushed to the forefront. Studies suggest that Klimt considered posing her with her back turned (like the man in the "Kisse"), but decided to position both figures facing forward so that their faces could be seen (another departure from the prior works). As a result, Adam has more presence than most of Klimt's male characters, though his role is hardly a strong one. In a curious reversal of the usual symbolism, the man is passive, somnolent, while the woman is active, awake. Night (or the moon) was traditionally the female force, day (the sun) male, and they were thus portrayed in the Beethoven Frieze version of "The Kiss". Here, however, it is the man who seems associated with night, while the lighter female radiates sunshine. Klimt was gradually breaking out of the fin-de-siecle stereotypes of sexuality to embrace a broader and more original vision.

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