A Gustav Klimt painting, nearly destroyed in a fire in WW11 when looted by the Nazis, has sold for a record-breaking $236.4m. Latterly it had been owned by the Estee Lauder heir.
Klimt born 14 July 1862, Vienna, Austria, after a conventional start painting murals, became famous as a “painter of women”. ‘Eros, sexuality and femininity were variously interpreted by him as alluring danger. Life, love, and death can be determined as the important themes of his work.’ His work helped define the Art Nouveau style in Europe.
In real life he had many relationships with women and fathered at least fourteen children.
He grew up in poverty with a gold engraver father, one of seven children. One sister died young, another became mentally disturbed leaving their mother depressed and three brothers had artistic talents though, Ernst, the closest to Gustav, died in his late twenties.
Gustav Klimt was a creative Sun Cancer with an Aquarius/Pisces Moon. He had two conjunctions forming a Mutable T square with Uranus Venus in Gemini opposition a Sagittarius North Node square Saturn Jupiter in Virgo – light-hearted, lucky, hard-working, tuned into the cultural mood of the moment. Plus a publicity-attracting Neptune Mars conjunction in Aries. His Pluto was sparsely aspected being only sextile Mercury and maybe conjunct his Sun/Moon midpoint. An unaspected Pluto can be intense, fuelled by compulsive urges of great power but over time does need to be held in check.
The most expensive artwork ever sold at auction was Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci, which sold in 2017 for US$450.3m.
There is little that connects the two painters, one born 400 years after the other, apart from talent and luck – talent on its own not always being enough to bring success in life or the hereafter.
Leonardo da Vinci, 23 April 1452 (Gregorian Calendar) 9.40 pm Vinci, Italy, was a Sun Taurus in his creative and audience-attracting 5th house in a determined square to Pluto. His Moon conjunct Jupiter in Pisces was on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Pluto sextile Neptune on his Midheaven. With a second yod from his Jupiter Moon sextile Sun inconjunct his 10th house Neptune. Neptune, the dream-weaver and image-creator was highlighted as was confident, expansive, fortunate Jupiter. In some ways a more obvious super-star artist chart.
In his rectified chart, he has Eros at 25Le08 opp natal Moon, women, 29Aq05, in his
5th of xex and creativity.
Below is Klimt’s rectified chart. Enlarge by clicking floating magnifier.
At death the following: trans Mars, r8, death conj natal Asc; trans Pluto conj MH;
two trans death indicators on 12th cups; trans Atropos, endings conj 8th cusp;
trans Libitina, funeral sextile 8th cusp; SA Pluto conj MH; SA Atropos sextile 6th cusp;
SA Nemesis conj Desc; SA Laches, life span, sextile 8th cusp.
https://ibb.co/hRg09zwj
It is said that Klimt’s Lederer masterpiece was inspired by two Glaswegian artists Klimt met in 1900: Charles Rennie Mackintosh and, above all, his wife Margaret MacDonald.
Klimt reputedly said: “I have seen works by Margaret MacDonald which are so beautiful and so full of genius that they surpass everything we have done here.”
A work of hers which impressed him greatly was her large gresso panel, The May Queen.
Look it up, there are similarities.
McIntosh once famously said of his wife Margaret, “ I have some talent but she is a genius “. This in early 20th century, ultra macho Glasgow. If you haven’t visited the Willow TeaRooms on Sauchiehall St since it was refurbished, it’s an absolute masterpiece of Art Nouveau brilliance. The owner Miss Cranston was also a phenomenal woman in her own right. The charts of All three would be interesting I think?
His iconic painting of “The Kiss” appears to be influenced by the woodcuts of Edvard Munch, of the same subject. Personally I prefer Klimt’s landscapes to his portraits. Amazing that Margaret McDonald had such a powerful influence.
Sexuality and eroticism was very much part of his work and he chose to paint women’s erotic experience rather than that of men – progressive for the times, although the Symbolist Movement of the time did specifically focus on female sexuality. You see this in his freedom-loving Venus/BML/Uranus conjunction in Gemini. Sometimes I’ve noticed Venus/Uranus in the charts of those who find clothing restrictive and enjoy the freedom of the naked body. Klimt worked naked under a large, slightly monastic full-length smock for example. His use of flat colour and intense, Japanese and Byzantine style patterning and remarkable detail is reflected in that Jupiter/Saturn conjunction in Virgo.
His portraiture clients were mostly wealthy members of Vienese high society, may of them Jewish. Families such as the Wittgensteins, Bloch-Bauers, Lederers, and Primavesis. As a result many paintings were stolen by the Nazis. The film, ‘Woman in Gold’, stars Helen Mirren as Maria Altmann, who battles to retrieve an iconic painting of her aunt Adele Bloch-Bauer – ‘Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I and II’ plus three landscapes which were stolen from her relatives by the Nazis in Vienna just prior to World War II. Good film.
Although Pluto looks sparse. A quick calculation ( fingers crossed) puts both his Mercury/Neptune and Mars/Mercury midpoints conjunct Pluto in Taurus. Taurus is ruled by Venus, with his Venus in Gemini, which is also ruled by Mercury. Suddenly a picture emerges of a strong passionate man, with a need to express his strong desires. Either in art or women as Pluto in Taurus will give a deep earthly form for his imagination. Uranus in Gemini sextile his Saturn/Jupiter in Virgo, also ruled by Mercury will also give him possibly an unusual or different philosophy to his work, especially as Uranus is also an exact sextile, placing a need for detail in his work. Jupiter rules Sagittarius, which is where is North Node is situated which allowed him to break new ground by introducing his unique style?
The jury is out on whether Salvator Mundy was by Leonardo da Vinci or one of his apprentices.
Neptune in Scorpio in 10h…hence the boundaryless ocean of darkness with confusion as Neptune is ocean God and rules pisces-twin fishes in opposite direction symbolising confusion. Midheaven so hopes and wishes but ends up darkness depression …reflected in his sunflowers to bright colours used more with contrasting dark colours though enhancing but reflecting the dark demons creeping in…art gives after de@th as all artists legends ,life shows….it’s purpose is to vent out suppressed emotions to reliieve.