The dancer 1918

Gustav Klimt made this painting of a dancer using oil on canvas, and look at how the surface comes alive! I can almost feel Klimt layering each small square of colour, one by one, in this dazzling, patterned dress. It's like he's building up the surface, piece by piece. The paint is applied relatively thinly, and the colours are really singing. You get the impression that he starts with the figure, then surrounds her with all the colour and pattern. You can see some of the other figures in the background. He must have been thinking about what the picture needed – colour, texture, movement, and that little green cat! It reminds me of the way Matisse would use colours and shapes to create patterns and depth. Artists are always looking at each other, aren’t they, and trying to create their own vision of the world. And it reminds you that painting is an ongoing dialogue, a space for possibility, where meanings are always shifting and multiple.