Gustav Klimt “The Tree of Life” 1909
Gustav Klimt was an Austrian painter (born in 1862, died in 1918) and the founder of the school of painting known as the Vienna Sezession. Klimt’s early work was rather realistic in nature. Much of the paintings he did prior to 1898 were large murals commissioned by theaters. Later in his life, Klimt began to paint in a much more innovative and imaginative way until eventually his creations were very decorative and quite symbolic – meaning that many of the images in his work had hidden meaning.
Gustav Klimt painted the “Tree of Life” which is an important symbol in nearly every culture.
The Tree of Life represents wisdom, protection, strength, and beauty. It reaches up into the sky and down into the earth. It links Heaven, Earth, and the Underworld.
The swirled branches make people want to keep looking at the painting to explore and find more.
Even with the mixed up patterns and swirly branches we still will always recognize it as The Tree of Life.
You will be creating your own “Tree of Life” Using the instructions attached, as a guide, how many swirly branches will you include? What types of lines will you use in your drawing, Remember Line is one of the Elements of Art. What will you hide in the tree branches ?
