Klimt Musik 1895 Original verbrannte auf Schloss Immendorf
Allegoric representation of music. Here the central figures are a
robed woman holding a lyre, and a sphinx on the right. A Silenus
mask on the left is partially obscured by the contemplative woman.
Music is one of his earliest paintings and was painted in the
Jugendstil or youthful style of the Art Nouveau that was so popular
in the late 19th century.
Greek tycoon and patron of the arts, Nikolaus Dumba
commissioned Gustav Klimt to decorate two rooms in the Palais
Dumba, Vienna. Music was tailored for painting over the door of
the music room. Typical of Klimt’s paintings, Music was decorative
and allegorical. The lyre is a symbol of music, and the sphinx is a
symbol of artistic freedom. The lion’s teeth at the centre denote
the spread of new ideas. Gustav Klimt portrayed many influences
in his paintings including Classical Greek, Minoan and Egyptian
mythologies, and the engravings of Albrecht Dürer.
