Wikipedia

Death and Life

Death and Life (German: Tod und Leben) is an oil-on-canvas painting by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. The painting was started in 1908 and completed in 1915.[1] It depicts an allegorical subject in Art Nouveau style. The painting is now housed at the Leopold Museum in Vienna.[2][3]

Death and Life
Tod und Leben
Year1910
Mediumoil paint, canvas
Dimensions1,805 mm (71.1 in) × 2,005 mm (78.9 in)
LocationLeopold Museum
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Description

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The relationship of death and life is one of Klimt's central themes, central also to his time and to his contemporaries, among them Edvard Munch and Egon Schiele.[4][5]

The imagination of the artist is focused no longer on physical union, but rather on the expectation that precedes it. Perhaps this new found serenity is rooted in Klimt's own awareness of aging and closeness to death. But before the moment came he chose to depict nothing more than moments of intense pleasure or miraculous beauty and youth.[6][7]

The painting measures 178 × 198 cm.[8][9]

1915 alteration

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Death and Life (First Version); 1910–11, oil on canvas, 2,005 mm × 1,805 mm, Leopold Museum

Klimt made changes to the painting in 1915, after the first five exhibitions of the painting. He changed the background colour from golden to grey, and added some mosaics.

Exhibition history

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In 1911 Death and Life received first prize in the world exhibitions in Rome.[10] In 1912 Klimt exhibited the painting at an art exhibition in Dresden.

Further exhibitions of the painting took place e.g. 1913 in Budapest and Mannheim, 1914 in Prague, 1916 in Berlin, 1917 in Stockholm, 1917/'18 in Copenhagen, 1918 in Zurich and from 1923 several times in Vienna, 1958 in Venice, and 1965 in New York and London.[11]

See also

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References

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External videos
video icon Klimt's Death and Life, Smarthistory[12]
  1. ↑ "Gustav Klimt - Leopold Museum". www.leopoldmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "Gustav Klimt, Death and Life". Leopold Museum. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  3. ↑ Bade, Patrick (1 July 2011). Gustav Klimt (in French). Parkstone International. ISBN 978-1-78042-283-1.
  4. ↑ Lightfoot, D. Tulla (21 February 2019). The Culture and Art of Death in 19th Century America. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-3518-7.
  5. ↑ Arnason, H. Harvard (1968). History of Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture. H. N. Abrams.
  6. ↑ "Klimt, Death and Life (video) | Austria | Khan Academy". www.khanacademy.org/. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  7. ↑ Bade, Patrick (1 July 2011). Gustav Klimt. Parkstone International. ISBN 978-1-78042-294-7.
  8. ↑ "Gustav Klimt, Death and Life". Leopold Museum. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  9. ↑ Bade, Patrick (1 July 2011). Gustav Klimt (in French). Parkstone International. ISBN 978-1-78042-283-1.
  10. ↑ "Biography - klimt-foundation.com". www.klimt-foundation.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  11. ↑ Klimt, Gustav; Marlborough Fine Art Ltd. (1966). Gustav Klimt: paintings and drawings: [exhibition], October-November 1965, Marlborough Fine Art Limited ... [et al.]. London: Marlborough Fine Art Ltd. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  12. ↑ "Klimt's Death and Life". Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
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