Print of Gustav Klimt - Beethoven Frieze. Longing for happiness. Left wall - 1902
Gustav Klimt - Beethoven Frieze. Longing for happiness. Left wall
Year: 1902 - Casein, enamels and plaster on ribbed wooden panels. Fragments of mirror, buttons, upholstery nails, pieces of colored glass and gilding.
Preserved at: Secession Building, Vienna, Austria.
Gustav Klimt's "Beethoven Frieze" is divided into a rhythmic sequence of episodes: the individual's long journey in search of happiness, between forces of good and evil, inspired by Schopenhauer's philosophy.
"The Enelitus to happiness" is represented by supple and fluctuating figures that move in space following a rhythmic trend. In front, in the foreground, the Hero Knight wearing golden armor. It would be a portrait of Gustav Mahler who, leaning on his sword, listens to prayers and invocations.
Behind the Knight there is the representation of two allegories: compassion and ambition. Compassion is depicted with the bowed head tilted and hands joined, while ambition with the front face and the laurel wreath in hand.