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The Tree of Life (Stoclet Frieze cartoon)
Gustav Klimt · Symbolism & Art Nouveau
- Artist
- Gustav Klimt (1862–1918)
- Date
- c. 1909–1910
- Dimensions
- 200 x 102 cm
- Medium
- Tempera, watercolour, gold and silver paint, chalk and pencil on paper
- Location
- MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria
The Tree of Life is part of Klimt’s full-size design for a mosaic frieze in the dining room of the Palais Stoclet in Brussels, a luxurious mansion built by the architect Josef Hoffmann for a Belgian banker. The finished mosaic, made of marble, gold, enamel and precious stones, is still in the house.
A closer look
The tree rises from a flowery meadow and spreads its branches in endless golden spirals across the wall, a symbol of the connection between earth and heaven and of the cycle of life. Stylised eye-shaped motifs and triangles decorate the trunk, and a solitary black bird, often read as a symbol of death, perches among the branches. This sheet is one of nine cartoons, working drawings on paper that guided the craftsmen of the Wiener Werkstätte in making the mosaic.
More by Gustav Klimt
In this gallery
Famous works elsewhere
- Danaë 1907
- The Three Ages of Woman 1905
- Adele Bloch-Bauer II 1912
- Portrait of Fräulein Lieser 1917
- Insel im Attersee 1901