Farm Garden with Crucifix 1912

Gustav Klimt made this square painting, Farm Garden with Crucifix, with oil on canvas. It's all about how Klimt puts paint down. He doesn't try to trick you into thinking it's anything but paint. Looking closely, you can see how he uses little dabs and dashes of colour. The surface is alive with all these marks, building up a crazy tapestry of texture. It’s like he’s letting the painting grow organically, one little piece at a time. Notice the way he lays down the yellows and greens. They're not blended smoothly, but rather exist as individual strokes that vibrate against each other, creating this shimmering light. It reminds me a bit of Van Gogh’s landscapes, but Klimt's got his own rhythm. It’s like he’s showing us that art is a conversation, an ongoing experiment.