Gustav Klimt and Japanese Art in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna by Shiells, Svitlana V.;

Short description:

This probing and innovative monograph, based on interdisciplinary and multicultural approach, traces the trajectory of the Japanese influence on Klimt’s heterogeneous and idiosyncratic oeuvre.

Long description:

This probing and innovative monograph, based on an interdisciplinary and multicultural approach, traces the trajectory of the Japanese influence on Klimt’s heterogeneous and idiosyncratic oeuvre.

Placing Klimt’s experimentations with Japanese stimuli in a broad historical and cultural context, it unfolds a vibrant picture of the unprecedented creative dialogue and synthesis of Japanese models by one of the most important modernists. Closely investigating the intricate anatomy of Klimt’s art, this groundbreaking project constructs a critical theory of the evolution of Klimt’s style and is the first comprehensive study of the role of Japonisme in its genesis. Focusing on Klimt’s experimentation with Japanese models, the book presents a multifaceted conception of Klimt’s modernism, thereby providing an indispensable and vital account of Vienna 1900.

The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, Japanese studies, and European studies.

"This book boldly brings together the celebrated and well-known work of Klimt with the less well-known work of Japanese erotic artists from the generations before him. Japanonisme has been intensely studied, but there remain concealed areas of interest and influence. Svitlana Shiells’ book brings one to the fore. Admirers of Klimt will find surprises at every turn."

 -- Timon Screech, Professor, International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto

"Shiells’ book presents an innovative and extensive analysis of the impact of Japanese art on Klimt and the larger culture of Vienna. Her work explores rarely discussed German-language literature and exhibitions of Japanese art, as well as personal friendships, to uncover sources for Klimt’s developments in formal experimentation, decorative design, and content that ranges from kimonos to objects related to Shinto belief. This book will have a transformative effect on how viewers and scholars understand Klimt’s famous paintings in a global context."

-- Marsha Morton, Professor, Pratt Institute, New York

"My father and I have collected nearly all books on Klimt's art. Unlike anything else written previously, Svitlana Shiells’ book takes a deeper and more comprehensive approach to the art of Gustav Klimt, my great uncle. She understands his art like no one else, and her book sets a major milestone in the study of Klimt’s heritage."

-- Peter Zimpel, great nephew of Gustav Klimt, Vienna

"Klimt wrote that those who wanted to know something about him as an artist should look carefully at his pictures, indeed that everything worth knowing was there to be seen. Svitlana Shiells has done that careful looking and, in the process, uncovered what was hidden in plain sight: Klimt’s deep admiration for and indebtedness to Japanese art, from ukiyo-e prints and shunga to kimonos and Shinto shrines. Bolstering her insights with prodigious research, Shiells has produced a book that is a must-read for anyone interested in not only Klimt but Viennese modernism at large."

-- Lisa Florman, Professor, The Ohio State University

Table of Contents:

Introduction  1. The Weltausstellung 1873 in Vienna as a Cultural Watershed  2. Avatar of Austrian Modernism: The Road to the Secession  3. The Theoretical Steppingstones of Klimt’s Artistic Transformation and His First Programmatic Paintings  4. The Aesthetic Dialogue Between Klimt and Hiroshige  5. Katsushika Hokusai and Gustav Klimt  6. Japanese Erotic Prints and Klimt’s Visual Reflections  7. Metamorphoses: Portrait of Sonja Knips and Itō Jakuchū’s Print Golden Pheasant and Bamboo in Snow  8. Shinto and Beyond: Klimt’s Portrait of Emilie Flöge and The Kiss  9. The Enduring Necessity of Reaffirming of Klimt’s Artistic Principles and Commitments  10. Geometric Engagement and Symbolic Transcendence in Klimt’s Portraiture  11. Redressing Modernity: The Impact of the Kimono on Klimt’s Oeuvre  12. Requiem: Klimt’s Series of Late Paintings  Conclusion: Klimt, the Sensei