Desiree Franken is an English education major at William Woods University. She resides in Jefferson City, Missouri, with her husband and two children. During her free time, Desiree enjoys reading, drawing, and writing creative prose. In 2007, she presented a creative short story, "Snowflake Lilly," at the annual conference for the international English honor society, Sigma Tau Delta, held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Gustav Klimt- Hope I

Here I stand. I could say that I was completely alone, but that is untrue. I have you, dear viewer, whomever you may be staring back at me. I also have the monsters behind me, though I do not gaze upon them. One encircles my body while the others hang behind in a macabre line. I am the emphasis of the piece. Some say that I’m an innocent and others label me a whore. All I know is that I’m nude and very pregnant.
During my time, I was considered so controversial that my maker, Gustav Klimt, didn’t even try to show me to the public until a full year after completion (The Great Masters 11). Later, I was bought by Fritz Warndorfer and hung in his personal collection of art (Fliedl 131). I was not hung for all to see, but was hidden behind a special cabinet “‘to protect…from unworthy glances’” (Fliedl 131) and from “‘profane eyes’” (Dobai 2).
Even the interpretations of my composition brought about many different ideas, arguments, and scandals. I have been likened to the mother of a demon by some (Dobai 2). Klimt also stirred the pot of controversy by painting my hair red and giving me pubic hair to match. This symbolic color was usually used for women he considered to be courtesans in his paintings (Fliedl 129). My hair, as well as my blatant stare at the viewer, makes some individuals see this possible symbolism as truth. Compared to Klimt’s other paintings, my colors are more iridescent and lack much of the gold detail that popularized most of his paintings and murals. This strange play on value and color added to the erotic nature of my body, but also makes me look rather ethereal (Fliedl 129). Many paintings by Gustav used many representations of eroticism and death (Escritt 156). There are other schools of thought that say that I am not an unholy woman, but a representation of virtue against vices of the world. My form is strength and my ever expanding womb a carrier of hope against the devils that exists to overcome me (Dobai 2).
The ongoing debate over the suggestions created by my painting cannot be considered Klimt’s first brush with this sort of infamy. Klimt’s first artistic scandals came about with his Faculty paintings (Fliedl 64) and his Judith paintings (Masini 214-219). Each set of these paintings held several extended metaphors that related to the themes of female eroticism, death, and some even showed aspects of birth. Although Klimt used these themes in many of his works, he was not the only Art Nouvea painter that interpreted these viewpoints on the canvas. Both Egon Schiele and Edvard Munch’s works exhibited “life…with anxiety, pessimism, and despair” (Cole and Gealt 262). Many of these artists’ paintings showed aspects of the Freud’s psychoanalysis and delved deeply into the subconscious word of the mind (Cole and Gealt 263).
After I was locked away from prying eyes, Klimt did not attempt another painting with a pregnant woman for four years. My “sister”, Hope II, was quite different from me. She was much more sedate. Her pregnant form was also the emphasis of the piece, but she lacked the erotic interpretations. Hope II was painted against a large textured gold background. The majority of her shape is wrapped in a multi-patterned cloth. Not much of her body shows, save for her milk laden breasts. She stares downward at her large womb. Beside her belly sits a skull and below her body women pray wrapped in her cloth.
Hope II did not excite people as I did. Her themes were not as puzzling to people. There were no erotic stares at the viewer(s) or unreadable motifs. There was just an easily ready allegory of life and death. She was widely accepted while I was not. (Fliedl 131-132).
One must question if Hope II’s acceptance affected me? I cannot say that it did not for awhile, but as an image in a painting I cannot bear a grudge. I was born in the Victorian era. People restricted and censored every art that they found questionable at this time. I am happy with being a seductive, expectant, satanic whore. . To others, I am a muse. Let them puzzle my stare, gawk at my body, and shy from my vicinity. I am the reason for art. I create questions and answer them all at the same time.
I have but only one wish and one regret. I regret the loss of Klimt at such an early age. His death was sudden that his genius was never fully known. He was not one of the only Modernist to fall victim to the plague of influenza that year (Ferrier182). He shall be remembered and missed. My wish is for the future of art. I hope that art will grow and prosper in humanity, so that individuals will study Klimt as well as the other masters. I also hope for a world that does not censor the genius that is art. Maybe this is the hope that I’ve been waiting to birth for 107 years?
Bibliography
Cole, Bruce, and Adelheid Gealt. Art of the Western World. New York: Summit Books, 1989.
Dobai, Johannes. "Gustav Klimt's 'Hope I.'" National Gallery of Canada Bulletin 17 (1971), p. 2-15, 33. Canada’s Digital Collections. 24 March 2007 http://phlogma.com/aporia/wein/hope.htm.
Escritt, Stephen. Art Nouveau. London, England: Phaidon, 2000.
Ferrier, Jean- Louis. Art of the 20th Century. Trans. Walter D. Glanze and Lisa Davidson. Borgaro, Italy: Chêne – Hachette 1999.
Fliedl, Gottfried. Gustav Klimt. New York: Taschen, 1998.
The Great Masters. Klimt. London, England: Park Lane, 1993.
Masini, Lara- Vinca. Art Nouveau. London, England: Chartwell Books, 1984.