Mountain Slope at Unterach

Mountain Slope at Unterach

The Mountain Slope of Unterach was conceived by the impressionist painter Gustav Klimt, upon visiting the region in 1915. The artist's technique had transformed through decades painting, however Klimt always fell back upon a classic landscape painting in-between prominent portraits and his classic gold phase.

The painting depicts the beautiful scenery the artist was engulfed on while on his visit to Lake Attersee in Austria. The artist had spent many summers in the beautiful region, exploring the deep forests, sketching the lush blossoms, and illustrated the landscape within his work. Klimt woke up every day at 6am, and was known as a man of the forest by the locals for his desire to be engulfed outside. As Klimt spent much of his like in the capital of Austria, Vienna, the natural landscape outside the big city was a concept that seized him.

The artist did not desire to depict the setting in a realist form, nor an art nouveau style that his other prominent work was based on, but however a classic impressionist style. It is believed that Klimt fell back upon the easy style as it brought him joy, an emotion he did not feel much of due to the rapid death of his father, brother and child, which brought his mother and sister into a deep depression.

The piece illustrates the beautiful scenery from a far away angle; Klimt was known for going through large heights in order to get the perfect location to paint, including using a large telescope to paint. This piece however seems to be set in the outdoors, as the artist looks upon Lake Attersee and the village upon it. The lake is painted in a classic light blue colour, filling a small portion of the canvas. Beneath the water, the artist illustrates the calm vegetation that grows; with tall trees along the lake, and ploughed land seeming to resemble a forest. The plain is based in a salad green colour, while the rest of the vegetation near by is illustrated through bright shades of green.

On top of the lake, a small village is situated. To the left of the village, the viewer is able to see a large white church with an onion shaped dome, which the artist had painted within his previous work, Church in Unterach on Attersee. The remainder of the village gently blends together, as the artist painted each house in its own form. The structures are coloured in shades of white, red, yellows and orange, depict the popular colours of the homes at the time. While the painting is produced as a landscape, the artist did not incorporate many elements of depth within the piece, showcasing the work as a flat landscape.

The mountain continues as the focal point of the piece, seizing the attention of the viewer as it covers the large mountain. Small trees fill the upper section of the canvas, shapes as small ovals in shades of salad green, dark green and teal turquoise. The shades of blue within the piece match the blue coloured lake, lightly adding a similarity between the two paintings. Gustav Klimt's classic impressionist technique is always used to depict the landscape that fills the region. The artist's summer getaways to the countryside on Lake Attersee and Mount Unterach are a strong inspiration on his work as the fresh setting seizes him.