Poppy Field 1907

This painting, Poppy Field, was made by Gustav Klimt, though we don’t know exactly when. Just imagine Klimt, out in a field, squinting at all those colors. It’s like he’s made a carpet out of paint, a carpet that you can walk on. I see the reds and blues of the poppies and other flowers, and the green of the grass. It feels almost like a mosaic, each little daub of paint placed just so, building up this shimmering field. You can imagine the sun beating down, the buzzing of bees. I wonder if he felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of colors and shapes. Did he struggle to capture it all, or did he just let go and let the paint do its thing? I think Klimt was in conversation with the Impressionists, but he was also doing his own thing, pushing the boundaries of what painting could be. It’s a reminder that we’re all part of a bigger conversation, building on what came before, trying to make something new.