Preferences and Perspectives | Romantic Era

The Kiss

Gustav, K. (1908) 'The Kiss'. Vienna, Austria: Klimt (Left)    Edvard, M. (1897) 'The Kiss'. Oslo, Norway: Munch (Right)

While I understand that Munch's work is linked to a variety of art movements, including expressionism, his style was also influenced by the Post-Impressionist movement and held a majority of the style's characteristics (Watson, 2025). Munch wanted to use art as a way to express and convey his intense emotions, turning his personal experiences into something that others could relate to. He hoped that through art, he could get to know himself and inspire others to do so in the process (Watson, 2025). Whereas Klimt's perception of art examines pleasure, love, joy, and sadness (Witek, 2023). During his "Golden Period," his work best exemplified this perception by the use of textures and solid forms throughout his work.

Munch's piece feels more melancholic as it shows a couple embracing, their faces blurring into each other as a single form. This blurring represents the erasure of self in the act of love, a concept that aligns with Munch's exploration into his psychology and existential tensions (Flair, 2023). The Dark, muted colors and vigorous brushwork enhance the feeling of sadness and emotional depth. The changes in the value create a moody atmosphere, with the figures emerging from a darker background, enhancing the sense of intimacy (Flair, 2023). The texture created by his brushstrokes further amplifies the eerie feeling, creating emotion and tension within the piece.

In contrast, Klimt's version feels more fun and intimate (Witek, 2023). His rendition depicts a couple decorated with golden patterns, kneeling on a meadow filled with flowers. Klimt's use of solid forms is presented throughout his piece; the male figure's cloak is decorated with rectangular forms, and the woman's clothes are adorned with flowers. Personally, I like to believe that this further emphasizes their individuality despite nearly blending into each other. Klimt creates a blank golden background, removing any sense of depth and focusing the attention on the couple. His use of gold, black, and silver gives the painting a rich texture (Zucker & Harris, 2012). The visual tension between the smooth, reflective background and the complex patterns of the clothing creates an interesting view. I love how similar the paintings are but so different when it comes to the symbolism; both are showing their views on love as one painting depicts a blissful bond and the other depicts complete unity. 

Illustrating Despair

Similar to Munch's perspective and post-impressionist values, Vincent Van Gogh wanted to express his feelings in his paintings (Barbe, 2023). While it's common to associate Van Gogh with his use of bright colors and captivating brushstrokes, I chose a painting that uses these tools in a moment of despair experienced by the artist. While in residence at an asylum, Van Gogh could not paint outside as he usually would. To combat this restriction, he referenced a print by Gustave Doré to draw his rendition of the artwork while expressing his emotions at the time (Gruener, 2013). This moment is an excellent representation of Van Gogh inserting his experiences in his paintings, making them into pieces of art that speak to the audience.

Vincent, V. G. (1809) 'Prisoners' Round'. Moscow, Russia: Van Gogh

The painting shows a line of prisoners marching in a circle in a cramped prison yard, surrounded by high brick walls while being observed by guards (Barbe, 2023). The rounded shapes created by the prisoners' heads and the surrounding walls give the sense of monotony. The painting has a dull color scheme; Van Gogh's signature yellow accompanied with browns, grays, and blues surround the image, mirroring the bleak life of the prisoners. The soft contrast between the uniform and wall shades gives us the feeling of his entrapment and loneliness during his stay at the asylum. 

Do Not Repay Evil with Evil

"The purpose of my work has never been to destroy but to create constantly, to build bridges because we must all seek solace in the hope that all of humanity will become closer, all the easier, if they know each other well."

— Alphonse Mucha 

Alphonse, M. (1918) 'Petr Chelčický at Vodňany: Do Not Repay Evil with Evil'. Czechia, Prague: Mucha

When people hear about Alphonse Mucha, the first images that may come to mind are his posters and advertisements. However, I believe that some of his greatest works are often overshadowed by his casual pieces. The Slav Epic is what I consider to be his greatest work of all time. The Slav Epic consists of twenty pieces depicting the history and mythology of the Slavic people. Mucha believed that art should be used to unite and inspire moral values in society (Dusza, 1970). His work in the Slav Epic perfectly depicted his perspective, as each of the paintings showed important moments in Slavic history accompanied by its deeper meaning (Chapple, 2021). 

Mucha's painting conveys the agony of villagers as they stand near the bodies of victims. Although his expressive lines in Art Nouveau are not prominent in this piece, it still has traces of it through the flowing curves, delicate patterns, and composition. Like Van Gogh, he uses soft tones to bring about the somber mood of the scene with the help of a range of values, from dark shades to light. The lines guide the eyes of the viewer through the image from the agonized faces of the villagers to the serene condition of Petr Chelický, who begs people to not seek revenge (Chapple, 2021). By implementing Mucha's philosophy within the painting, he invites the viewer to think deeply about the cycle of violence and whether or not it's possible to break this cycle by reflecting on our own actions.

I adore both styles deeply, each in its own right. Their similarities are evident when you consider that Post-Impressionism emerged in the late 19th century, and Art Nouveau developed around the same time. Both were influenced by Japanese art, particularly in their use of asymmetrical and free-flowing shapes as a way to express beauty and symbolism in distinct ways. Mucha's work is grounded in philosophy and history, while Van Gogh provides a subjective interpretation of man's suffering. If I had to select a personal favorite style, I could easily choose Art Nouveau because of its sharp attention to detail and new forms. Yet, I'm also drawn to the individual expression in Post-Impressionism, but both styles can convey the emotions of their individual artists very heavily.

Works Cited

Barbe, V. (2023) Everyday moments immortalised: An analysis of the genre scene, Blanc. Available at: https://galeriemontblanc.com/en/blogs/articles/an-analysis-of-the-genre-scene#:~:text=%22Prisoners%20Exercising%22%20is%20a%20poignant,a%20monotonous%20and%20endless%20ritual (Accessed: 21 March 2025).

Chapple, A. (2021) Alphonse Mucha’s ‘Slav epic’ masterpiece, explained, RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Available at: https://www.rferl.org/a/alphonse-mucha-masterpiece-slav-epic-explained/31063836.html (Accessed: 21 March 2025).

Dusza, E. (1970) Pan-Slavism in Alphonse Mucha’s slav epic, Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide. Available at: https://www.19thc-artworldwide.org/spring14/dusza-on-pan-slavism-in-alphonse-mucha-s-slav-epic (Accessed: 21 March 2025).

Flair, C. (2023) All about kiss by Edvard Munch - Creative flair blog, Creative Flair Blog - Hub of creative reads, news, insights. Available at: https://blog.creativeflair.org/all-about-kiss-by-edvard-munch/ (Accessed: 21 March 2025).

Foundation, M. (2025) Mucha foundation. Available at: https://www.muchafoundation.org/en/gallery/browse-works/object_type/paintings/object/223 (Accessed: 20 March 2025).

Gruener, A. (2013) Vincent van Gogh’s yellow vision, The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3693787/#:~:text=Third%2C%20van%20Gogh%20adored%20the,in%20one%20of%20his%20letters (Accessed: 20 March 2025).

The kiss, 1897 by Edvard Munch (2025) Edvard Munch. Available at: https://www.edvardmunch.org/the-kiss.jsp (Accessed: 20 March 2025).

Watson, G.F. (2025) Edvard Munch, Encyclopædia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edvard-Munch (Accessed: 21 March 2025).

Witek, D. (2023) Art analysis: The kiss by Klimt, Artsper Magazine. Available at: https://blog.artsper.com/en/a-closer-look/art-analysis-the-kiss-by-klimt/ (Accessed: 21 March 2025).

Zucker, S. and Harris, B. (2012) Gustav Klimt, the kiss, Smarthistory. Available at: https://smarthistory.org/gustav-klimt-the-kiss/ (Accessed: 21 March 2025).