The Kiss by Gustav Klimt

The Kiss (original Der Kuss) was painted by Gustav Klimt, during his ‘golden period’, and is probably his most famous work. It depicts a couple, bound up in various shades of gold and symbols, sharing a kiss against a bronze background.

The dusky featured man dominates the woman, holding her face to bestow the kiss. The woman with a lighter complexion kneels beneath the man, resignedly clutching his neck and hand.
The lovers are situated at the edge of a flowered escarpment. The man is wearing neutral coloured rectangles and a crown of vines; the woman wears brightly coloured tangent circles and flowers in her hair. The twain’s embrace is enveloped by triangular vining and a veil of concentric circles.
Similarly juxtaposed couples appear in both Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze and Stoclet Frieze.