Gustav Klimt's Dance with Death
On the eve of world war, Klimt painted "Death and Life," a masterpiece whose themes still resonate today.
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In 1911, Gustav Klimt debuted Death and Life at the International Art Exhibition in Rome. The painting won first prize, and to any outside observer, it appeared that Klimt had reached the peak of his career: the artist had navigated the rise and fall of the Vienna Secession, weathered the outrage surrounding his erotically-charged work, and could now take his place at the pinnacle of Art Nouveau.
Death and Life still resonates deeply with audiences. I would know—shortly before Christmas, I posted a Note featuring the painting on Substack, and it received thousands of interactions. Many of my newer readers discovered my newsletter thanks to Klimt’s painting.
But that version of Death and Life, which hangs in the Leopold Museum in Vienna, is not what viewers would have seen at the 1911 ex…
