Beech Grove I 1902

Gustav Klimt made this painting, Beech Grove I, with oil on canvas, and just look at how he makes the trees. The repetitive, rhythmic strokes of the brush, create a sense of depth and movement. I think he’s thinking about the painting as a process, each mark a decision, but also a step in a dance. The texture is something else; the ground is built up with layers, like a carpet of autumn leaves. The paint is thick in places, almost sculptural, like you could reach out and touch the bark of the trees. But then there are moments where it thins out, becomes more transparent, like the light filtering through the branches. I love how he uses these tiny brushstrokes to create a whole world. It’s like each stroke is a little leaf, a little moment in time. You can almost hear the rustle of the leaves underfoot. It reminds me a bit of Van Gogh, in the way he uses paint to create a sense of energy and movement, but Klimt’s got his own thing going on. It is an ongoing conversation, and exchange of ideas across time. Beech Grove I is a painting that embraces ambiguity, inviting us to lose ourselves in its depths.