About Gustav Klimt Skateboard Triptych – The Kiss (1907-1908) | Musart on Decks

Part of Musart Boutique’s original collection Musart on Decks comes this exclusive limited edition of 100 Gustav Klimt Skateboard Triptych featuring the Vienna Secessionist’s best known work The Kiss (1907-1908). The Kiss depicts a couple locked in an embrace, located in an indeterminate and ambiguous place and time. The viewer is only able to see of the embracing couple, segments of their bodies and virtually nothing of the man’s face so as to emphasis the engulfing nature of this intimate and passionate moment. Aside from the figures, the rest of the canvas dissolves into shimmering, extravagant yet flat patterning. Klimt’s ties with the art nouveau movement are reflected in the patterning of the figures, which in itself reflects the visual conflict between two and three-dimensionality associated with other modernist artists like Edgar Degas. In The Kiss, the patterning also signifies gender contrasts – rectangles for the man’s garment, circles for the woman’ s. Yet the patterning also unites the two lovers into a single formal entity underscoring their erotic union. Scholars believe the kiss represents Klimt and his long-time friend Emilie Flöge, a member of the Viennese bohemian and fin-de-siècle circles. In the words of the poet Friedrich Schiller’s famous Ode to Joy: “Joy, thou gleaming spark divine… This kiss to the whole world!” Bringing together tradition and contemporary culture, Musart Boutique is proud to present our exclusive original collection Musart on Decks featuring limited edition skateboard decks, displaying art historical timeless masterpieces which bridge the traditional history of art and contemporary skateboarding culture  at accessible prices.

More details on Gustav Klimt Skateboard Triptych The Kiss (1907-1908):

• Musart on Decks, The Kiss (1907-1908), Triptych Limited edition of 100, Skateboard Deck Sets
• Material: 100% Canadian/American Maple wood.
• Measurements Mellow Concave Skateboard set of 3: (Angles) Approx. 19.25º nose and 18.5º tail with a medium center concave. (Dimensions) 32″H x 8″L x 0.5″W Inches (est.)
• Weight: 8.14 lbs (est)
• Additional Features: Includes Skateboard Deck Display wall mounts.
• Photo Credit: Klimt, Gustav (1862-1918). The Kiss. 1907-1908. Oil on canvas, 180 x 180 cm. Österreichische Galerie im Belvedere. Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY.

About Gustav Klimt

The Vienna Secessionist and symbolist artist Gustav Klimt (1863-1918), undoubtedly, Gustav Klimt managed to capture in his works the Fin-de-siècle period’s flamboyance, while tempering it with unsettling undertones through his lavish use of gold-leaf. Austria was the country most closely associated with the Fin-de-Siècle culture which characterized the period of the late 1800s. Historians coined the term Fin-de-siècle which literally translates to “end of the century” to describe the European, especially Austrian culture, which describes not just a chronological period but also an intense preoccupation with sexual desires, perversions and overindulgences caused by an increasingly large and prosperous middle class. The increasing economic prosperity of the middle class which aspired to enjoy the benefits of the aristocracy and as a result, evolved into a culture of decadence and indulgence. The culture became immersed into an exploration of the subconscious and although the fin-de-siècle culture was unrestrained and freewheeling, the determination to enjoy life masked an anxiety prompted by significant political upheaval and uncertain future.