Österreichische Galerie Belvedere

The Österreichische Galerie Belvedere is a museum housed in the Belvedere Palace, which was the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736).

Built in the early eighteenth century, it is one of Europe’s Baroque landmarks and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Today, the Belvedere houses a collection of Austrian art and works of international artists.

Belvedere’s art collection presents an overview of art development in Austria and a unique insight into the country’s history.

A Virtual Tour of the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere

“The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt
“Farm Garden with Sunflowers” by Gustav Klimt
“Avenue in the Park of Schloss Kammer” by Gustav Klimt
“Oberösterreichisches Bauernhaus” by Gustav Klimt
Schloss Kammer am Attersee III by Gustav Klimt

Highlights Tour of the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere

“The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt

“The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt shows a couple embracing, their bodies entwined in elaborately decorated robes. The couple is kneeling at the edge of a flowery meadow.

The work is composed of oil paint with applied layers of gold leaf, which gives it a modern and unique appearance. The painting is considered a masterpiece of the early 20th-century and a symbol of Viennese Art Nouveau.

The Kiss is a vibrant and sensuous image which was a reaction to the academic art of the 19th century. It was inspired by natural forms, particularly the curved lines of plants and flowers.

Klimt’s use of gold leaf echoes medieval gold paintings and illuminated manuscripts, and Byzantine mosaics. Klimt traveled to Venice and Ravenna, famous for their beautiful Byzantine mosaics, which inspired his gold technique and imagery.

“Farm Garden with Sunflowers” by Gustav Klimt

“Farm Garden with Sunflowers” by Gustav Klimt depicts a garden scene with various flowers and sunflowers in a garden on a farm. Gustav Klimt was a Symbolist painter and one of the Vienna Art Nouveau movement’s most prominent members.

Beginning in the late 1890s, Klimt took annual summer holidays on Attersee’s shores and painted many of his landscapes there. These landscapes constitute the only genre aside from portrait painting that seriously interested Klimt.

In recognition of his interest in natural scenes, the locals called him Waldschrat (“forest demon”).

“Avenue in the Park of Schloss Kammer” by Gustav Klimt

“Avenue in the Park of Schloss Kammer” by Gustav Klimt depicts Kammer Castle and its surroundings. This painting depicts the avenue leading to the castle, which is one of his famous Attersee paintings.

Attersee, also known as Kammersee, is the largest lake of the Salzkammergut region in the Austrian state of Upper Austria.

“Oberösterreichisches Bauernhaus” by Gustav Klimt

“Oberösterreichisches Bauernhaus” by Gustav Klimt depicts a farmhouse in Buchberg as if the viewer is inside a forest, looking through a clearing. Klimt used French pointillism extensively for his landscape depictions.

French pointillism was exhibited in the Vienna Secession. The Vienna Secession was an art movement formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian artists. The first president of the Secession was Gustav Klimt.

In contrast to the French, Klimt did not open up all motifs in a uniform network of dots of color but instead emphasized distinctive motifs such as tree trunks or fruits with this technique.

Klimt hardly used the pointillist technique for portrayals or symbolistic pictures, but mainly for landscapes. In this painting, Klimt avoided open spaces and shadows to create the impression of two-dimensional surface patterns.

“Schloss Kammer am Attersee III” by Gustav Klimt

“Schloss Kammer am Attersee III” by Gustav Klimt depicts Kammer Castle, seen from the waterfront. The Castle, which originally dates from the 13th century, was converted into a three-story lake castle between 1622 and 1649.

The new castle included a knight’s hall, and later, two low side wings were added, which provided with arcades on the ground floor. The gate construction also dates from this period.

In the castle, there is an 18th-century chapel decorated with stucco and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. A staircase was added in 1748, which leads to the ballroom. The castle is privately owned and can only be visited for official events.