After taking an Art Experience class last year, I’ve seen and became very familiar with many paintings over the course of history. One that stands out in my memory of all the works that I have seen is Death and Life by Gustave Klimt that was done before 1911. I’ve never seen it in person, but I’ve studied it in class. At first glance the painting looks dark and gloomy. Now before you all think I’m a morbid person, allow me to explain myself. This painting is clearly divided into two sections, life (right) and death (left). The people on the right hand side appear to be at peace and oblivious to any impending death. The left however is like a dark cloud over them. Instead of focusing on the coming storm I like to look at this painting as it is captured in this moment. I think of it as an appreciation for life and the present instead of the inescapable death. No matter what is to come, the people pictured have no idea of their fate at this time and are not thinking about it. I like how the piece is a snapshot of the living instead of worrying about inevitable death.

            One element that Klimt uses is color to portray a certain message to his audience. He uses light and dark colors to make a contrast. In the section of death he demonstrates what we, as humans would most likely see when we think of death and the grim reaper. This section mostly contains shades of blues, greens, and reds that convey a sad and dark feeling. This contrasts greatly to the section of life where bright colors are used and a wide variety of them are used. The variety of shapes and colors used in this section make your eye bounce around livening it up much more. It is much more uplifting and happy.

Another element used in this work is surface pattern. In the section about death the image of crosses are used repeatedly giving it a rhythm throughout. However since there is so much unity to this section it gives it a dry and boring feel. Your eye stays still instead of traveling around because there isn’t as much to look at. This is consistent with the symbol of death that the artist is trying to portray. On the contrary, the life portion is completely the opposite. There is a surface pattern in this section, but there are many different patterns and colors used to make the painting feel alive. Also going with surface pattern is the balance of the work. The size of each cluster is very different. The size of death is very small compared to that of life. However, the weight of the colors even it out. The dark colors give more visual weight to the left side than the light colors on the right. Therefore the composition is pretty well balanced.

            Line is another element that is used very much throughout the work. The lines are very curvy, but smooth at the same time. There are no really jagged edges that leave the audience feeling an abrupt change. The lines just guide your eyes around the outside of the sections and then all throughout the insides. Many more lines are used in the life portion because it’s such a busy part of the painting. Both sides are standing up vertically suggesting stability and straightforwardness as if the message is jumping straight out towards its viewers. Finally, there is an implied line connecting the two sides to one another. The grim reaper is looking towards the other side and makes eye contact with one girl whose hands are pointing to herself as if to ask if she was the one he was seeking. This line connects the two sides together and unifies the piece as one work of art.