Shop art print and framed art Tragedy by Gustav Klimt

Tragedy is a small-format work (41.9 x 30.8 cm) executed by the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt in 1897 in charcoal and washed pencil with retouching in gold and white. The drawing was part of a set of plates commissioned by Martin Gerlach in 1883 for a three-volume edition entitled Allegories and Emblems. This depiction of the allegory of Tragedy was the third drawing that the artist painted for the second volume of the series, which included other representations such as Love and Sculpture. During the production of these plates, the painter's pictorial language underwent a transformation that would be significant in the development of his work. At the end of the 19th century, Vienna was in social and political decline due to the failure of liberalism and the weakening of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was stripped of its power on the international stage. Faced with the depressing situation in fin-de-siècle Vienna, art became a means of escaping the anguish of this precarious cultural, political and social situation. This led to a cultural transformation in which the old precepts were abandoned and a process of modernisation of the artistic sphere was set in motion. Against this backdrop, the Vienna Sezession was founded in 1897, with Gustav Klimt as its first president. This association was formed by a group of artists who were opposed to the conservative aura and traditional ethos that had invaded old Vienna. The creation of this association was a response to the [...]

 

This artwork is a drawing from the modern period. It belongs to the art nouveau style.

 

« Tragedy » is kept at Wien Museum Karlsplatz, Vienna, Austria.

 

Find the full description of Tragedy by Gustav Klimt on Wikipedia.