4 ms·

As the son of two artists, both of whom never liked gold, Klimt is a strange breed: My parents have made a ton of murals, jam-packed with gold. Not because they

As the son of two artists, both of whom never liked gold, Klimt is a strange breed: My parents have made a ton of murals, jam-packed with gold. Not because they wanted but because rich people(the type of people who want murals in their homes and can afford it) love it as an expression of their financial status. Both of them hated much of those murals and I can only name a handful of works they truly liked, at the end of the day, the customer is always right. And having seen much of their work(and taking some part on a few occasions circumstantially since I can't draw a single line to save my life), I completely agree with them. We have a word which roughly translates to mobbaroque in English. In almost all cases, this is exactly what it is. Having said that, my mom specifically has a few favorite artists, Klimt being one of them. Over the years she's been asked to make dozens of Klimt replicas(The Kiss probably accounting for 80% of them) and she's loved doing all of them. I think Klimt is the only artist to successfully incorporate gold into his paintings without making them look obnoxious or ostentatious. Not only that but made them look incredible. Admittedly I never looked all that deep as to why he was "obsessed" with it.

ewuhic 2y ago
What would be the original "mobbaroque" word your parents use?
- axegon_ 2y ago
  They don't use it exclusively(they didn't come up with it), it's a pretty common word across the country. So much so, that even google has picked up on it a lil bit: https://www.google.com/search?q=%D0%BC%D1%83%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BA&udm=2&biw=1920&bih=999&dpr=1 https://www.google.com/search?q=%D0%BC%D1%83%D1%82%D1%80%D0%...
Daub 2y ago
You may appreciate the following anecdote about Picasso. He was offered a lot of money to make a sculpture entirely in hold. His response was ‘Great! I will paint it black!’.
- axegon_ 2y ago
  I use it a lot but then again I lived a rock throw away from his house for a long period of my life but since The Rolling Stones are a bit closer to my heart, I usually resort to one of their famous songs.
mannyv 2y ago
Mobbaroque -> Mob Baroque. To me that's New York Italian, with lots of marble, gold, and extreme decor. It's a big marble tub with gold fixtures and maybe a couple of statues hanging around for good measure...in a marble/gold/mirrors bath.
- apercu 2y ago
  Or the bathroom at Mar-a-Lago ?
- devilbunny 2y ago
  Porcelain fountains! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oofdn0MFDSQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oofdn0MFDSQ
crabbone 2y ago
> Mobbaroque Oh, I didn't know the word, but I know what it means! Haha! Back in the days I worked in a printing house, one of the most common orders were business cards. Unimaginably large proportion of those were to be screen-printed with gold paint that increased in volume when heated on a paper that looked like marble. These orders usually came from people who had... well... no business to appear to be rich. Like, a local police department chief or an owner of a small refrigerated delivery service (that one was both morbid and bizarre as he wanted raw meat texture for the business card). Being an art college grad, I tend to think that a lot of Klimt's portraits weren't particularly indicative of what he wanted to paint. It was what put food on the table, what customers paid him for. He found a way to please the customers that worked. How much did he enjoy it?--Hard to tell. From my student years, when I had to make a living from art, which was admittedly not so easy or successful, I'd guess that in his heart of hearts he probably at the minimum laughed at it.
lo_zamoyski 2y ago
Klimt does use gold very well. But I am surprised by your claim... > I think Klimt is the only artist to successfully incorporate gold into his paintings without making them look obnoxious or ostentatious. Byzantine iconography comes off as neither obnoxious nor ostentatious. The use of gold in Botticelli's works wonderfully. And so on. What exactly is an example of "obnoxious or ostentatious" use of gold in art? I can only think of ridiculous things like gold-plated toilets. Perhaps you were exposed to especially egregious works that are not familiar to the general public?
- Retric 2y ago
  I think both Byzantine iconography and Botticelli’s works were invented to be ostentatious. Gold toilets/plates/etc come off as obnoxious because the use of gold is actively detrimental rather than simply eye catching.
  - lo_zamoyski 2y ago
    I don't see how. I do not find the works in question ostentatious in the least. They deploy gold tastefully and appropriately in relation to the subject matter. Purpose and the role something plays in a composition determines appropriateness. So, for example, while gold leaf on a church ceiling can be beautiful when it plays a sensible role in the composition, putting it slapdash on your drywall McMansion ceiling because #GoldIsRich is incredibly tacky. I suspect you are judging gold not from reasoned taste, but some kind of prejudice.
    - Retric 2y ago
      I am referring to the intent here. Gold in religious art is ment to signify importance just as the tacky rich guy’s gold is. Use of gold on a kings actual throne may seem more appropriate than a CEO’s chair but that’s a judgement about what should be venerated not the intent behind the use of gold.
      - mecsred 2y ago
pseudolus 2y ago
Aside from Klimt it could be argued that Maurizio Cattelan has successfully incorporated gold into his work - although in the form of sculpture. His work "America", a solid gold functioning toilet, attracted quite a few crowds (apparently over 100K people "used" it), one notable theft, and certainly made a statement. [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_(Cattelan) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_(Cattelan)
tambourine_man 2y ago
I never particularly cared much for Klimt and usually despise gold. But then I visited a museum in Vienna. My wife prepared the whole trip and I was mostly going with the flow. Unbeknownst to me, we would see The Kiss that day. It was striking. I mean, the lighting was obviously perfect and the surprise must have helped. But the colors, texture and shapes are just remarkable. I'll never forget making a corner turn and being completely mesmerized. One of those moments that makes you realize the value of the original, the whole Walter Benjamin aura thing.
staticautomatic 2y ago
Klimt is obviously most famous for his paintings incorporating gold but when I saw a huge collection of his work in Vienna I was absolutely blown away by some of his pastels. They are superlative, better than Degas IMO.

ewuhic 2y ago

What would be the original "mobbaroque" word your parents use?

axegon_ 2y ago
They don't use it exclusively(they didn't come up with it), it's a pretty common word across the country. So much so, that even google has picked up on it a lil bit: https://www.google.com/search?q=%D0%BC%D1%83%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BA&udm=2&biw=1920&bih=999&dpr=1 https://www.google.com/search?q=%D0%BC%D1%83%D1%82%D1%80%D0%...

Daub 2y ago

You may appreciate the following anecdote about Picasso. He was offered a lot of money to make a sculpture entirely in hold. His response was ‘Great! I will paint it black!’.

axegon_ 2y ago
I use it a lot but then again I lived a rock throw away from his house for a long period of my life but since The Rolling Stones are a bit closer to my heart, I usually resort to one of their famous songs.

mannyv 2y ago

Mobbaroque -> Mob Baroque. To me that's New York Italian, with lots of marble, gold, and extreme decor. It's a big marble tub with gold fixtures and maybe a couple of statues hanging around for good measure...in a marble/gold/mirrors bath.

apercu 2y ago
Or the bathroom at Mar-a-Lago ?
devilbunny 2y ago
Porcelain fountains! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oofdn0MFDSQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oofdn0MFDSQ

crabbone 2y ago

> Mobbaroque Oh, I didn't know the word, but I know what it means! Haha! Back in the days I worked in a printing house, one of the most common orders were business cards. Unimaginably large proportion of those were to be screen-printed with gold paint that increased in volume when heated on a paper that looked like marble. These orders usually came from people who had... well... no business to appear to be rich. Like, a local police department chief or an owner of a small refrigerated delivery service (that one was both morbid and bizarre as he wanted raw meat texture for the business card). Being an art college grad, I tend to think that a lot of Klimt's portraits weren't particularly indicative of what he wanted to paint. It was what put food on the table, what customers paid him for. He found a way to please the customers that worked. How much did he enjoy it?--Hard to tell. From my student years, when I had to make a living from art, which was admittedly not so easy or successful, I'd guess that in his heart of hearts he probably at the minimum laughed at it.

lo_zamoyski 2y ago

Klimt does use gold very well. But I am surprised by your claim... > I think Klimt is the only artist to successfully incorporate gold into his paintings without making them look obnoxious or ostentatious. Byzantine iconography comes off as neither obnoxious nor ostentatious. The use of gold in Botticelli's works wonderfully. And so on. What exactly is an example of "obnoxious or ostentatious" use of gold in art? I can only think of ridiculous things like gold-plated toilets. Perhaps you were exposed to especially egregious works that are not familiar to the general public?

Retric 2y ago
I think both Byzantine iconography and Botticelli’s works were invented to be ostentatious. Gold toilets/plates/etc come off as obnoxious because the use of gold is actively detrimental rather than simply eye catching.
- lo_zamoyski 2y ago
  I don't see how. I do not find the works in question ostentatious in the least. They deploy gold tastefully and appropriately in relation to the subject matter. Purpose and the role something plays in a composition determines appropriateness. So, for example, while gold leaf on a church ceiling can be beautiful when it plays a sensible role in the composition, putting it slapdash on your drywall McMansion ceiling because #GoldIsRich is incredibly tacky. I suspect you are judging gold not from reasoned taste, but some kind of prejudice.
  - Retric 2y ago
    I am referring to the intent here. Gold in religious art is ment to signify importance just as the tacky rich guy’s gold is. Use of gold on a kings actual throne may seem more appropriate than a CEO’s chair but that’s a judgement about what should be venerated not the intent behind the use of gold.
    - mecsred 2y ago

pseudolus 2y ago

Aside from Klimt it could be argued that Maurizio Cattelan has successfully incorporated gold into his work - although in the form of sculpture. His work "America", a solid gold functioning toilet, attracted quite a few crowds (apparently over 100K people "used" it), one notable theft, and certainly made a statement. [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_(Cattelan) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_(Cattelan)

tambourine_man 2y ago

I never particularly cared much for Klimt and usually despise gold. But then I visited a museum in Vienna. My wife prepared the whole trip and I was mostly going with the flow. Unbeknownst to me, we would see The Kiss that day. It was striking. I mean, the lighting was obviously perfect and the surprise must have helped. But the colors, texture and shapes are just remarkable. I'll never forget making a corner turn and being completely mesmerized. One of those moments that makes you realize the value of the original, the whole Walter Benjamin aura thing.

staticautomatic 2y ago

Klimt is obviously most famous for his paintings incorporating gold but when I saw a huge collection of his work in Vienna I was absolutely blown away by some of his pastels. They are superlative, better than Degas IMO.