Van Gogh Reborn!

Chapter 179: Holy Spring (5)

Chapter 179 Holy Spring (5)

I was so fascinated by the ceiling fresco that I didnt notice how splendid the surroundings were.

As I slowly widened my view, I felt like the ceiling around me was framed like a picture.

It was a huge and magnificent frame, made by a brilliant frame maker like Pierre Malo.

What about the pillars?

As I stood on the stairs leading to the second floor and looked at the direction of the dome hall, I was speechless with awe.

There were two angels carved on the top of the stairs I had climbed, and the palace shining with gold was holy.

I felt like I was in a temple as I looked at the Renaissance Art of Deification, and I wondered if there was a more graceful space in the human world.

Isnt it amazing?

Yes. Its too much.

Yes. Its excessive.

Grandfather nodded.

Every group acts nationalistically at the end.

It was the same for the downfall of the knight class.

When firearms were invented and there was no longer a need for people who fought on horseback, the knights used chivalry to maintain their power.

Chivalry, which was originally a means of regulating the rogue knights of the time, became a means of emphasizing the noble status of the knights and ruined them.

This case was no different.

The Vienna Art Museum was built as the last defiance of the Austrian emperor.

It was a space where the beautiful and majestic imperial spirit was preserved.

Renaissance, classical, and baroque artists had such wonderful skills, but they couldnt express themselves.

Maybe thats why they were more obsessed with their skills.

Maybe.

I wondered if the artists who had to express only the majesty of the king and could not contain their thoughts and emotions poured their ambition into their skills.

The sculptors of the time, who carved and polished marble to create textures like cloth, armor, and skin, had surely surpassed the limits of humanity.

What about the huge ceiling fresco, the Renaissance Art of Deification?

I cant even imagine how many years it took.

You didnt notice.

What?

You can see the Klimt painting.

I looked around, but I couldnt see any Klimt works.

Grandfather had explained the Theseus statue and the ceiling fresco as other peoples works, so the only place left was the mural next to the arch.

I dont know.

Are you talking about the mural?

Yes. Its a Klimt work.

Grandfather pointed to the three arches above the stairs leading to the second floor.

I cant see it well.

Its too far to see, and if I get closer, the picture is too high to get a good view.

I was embarrassed and wondered if I should ask him to lift me up, but grandfather laughed.

"There used to be stairs there, so you could see it up close."1

Then I cant see it properly?

There will be a telescope if you go up one more floor. You can see it from the other side.

Lets go quickly.

I hurried up the stairs.

I was speechless at the Klimt mural I saw through the telescope.

He had been very successful in orthodox art, and he had the skill to match.

When he painted this work, Klimt used the past style perfectly.

The ideal face, posture, delicate and orderly expression.

If he hadnt told me that Klimt painted this, no one would have thought it was his painting.

The woman on the left, based on the center, was probably Athena.

It was the essence of Greek art.

The nude woman on the right looked like an Egyptian, and I had no idea about that side, but I think I know what he was trying to say.

How is it?

Its amazing. But.

But?

Its a painting by Klimt, but its not a Klimt painting.

Grandfather smiled softly.

I turned the telescope to the left arch.

Do you see the papal crown?

Yes.

Its Ecclesia.

The Greek word ecclesia originally meant the assembly of Athenian citizens.

Early Greek Christians, including the Apostle Paul, borrowed the word and used it to mean church.

If grandfather was right, the woman in the robe was probably Ecclesia, that is, the personification of the church itself.

I turned the telescope to the right.

Ah.

Now I could see the painting that I could say was painted by Klimt.

It is a Klimt painting.

Yes, it is.

It was the style used in the early Renaissance that broke out in northern Italy in the 15th century.

And I could see the traces of gold leaf use that Klimt showed in his later works such as The Kiss and Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer.

He painted Dante and Beatrice.

Divine Comedy?

Do you know the Divine Comedy?

I learned it at school.

I never thought that attending a Korean elementary school would come in handy, but it did.

Anyway, since you know, youll see better.

Yes. Ancient Egypt, Greece, the Church, Italian Renaissance. Klimt recorded the history of art here.

I took my eyes off the telescope.

Because Joseph wanted it that way.

It was because the last Austrian emperor Joseph refused to change and insisted on the existing art style.

The last emperor who wanted to create a temple of art, he seemed to believe that art should be like baroque, classical, and renaissance.

The work of Renaissance Art of Deification was also like that, and all the works that make up this place were born from nostalgia for the past.

Grandfather nodded.

Yes. Even after impressionism became popular in France, Austria was still stuck in the past. Thanks to that, we can see this wonderful museum.

As grandfather said, this place has a very big meaning as a record.

As a record.

Huh?

Why?

He used that gold leaf technique later.

The clothes that Beatrice wore were similar to the technique he used later.

The clothes that used patterns with circles and squares meant that he was creating something new through the existing technique.

He must have been struggling when he painted that picture.

Yes. He could only remain as a decorative painter.

Grandfather stroked his head.

Its a work that he painted while learning and making his own things with many techniques such as mosaic, metal use, Greek pottery, Egypt, Babylonian relief, and so on.

I finally understood why grandfather wanted to come here first.

The young Gustav Klimts process and agony before he became a master are vividly left here.

At the end of the empire.

The genius Gustav Klimt, who diligently honed himself during the cold winter and brought spring with his own power.

I like him more and more.

***

The museum was too wide and I was tired, so I decided to go back to the hotel.

The Tower of Babel was also cool.

Its a work that Pieter Bruegel painted in the year he died.

Its cool that he could paint such a picture even before he died.

Ha ha. Your eyes are sparkling.

As I walked with grandfather, talking about the works we saw at the art museum, a small shop caught my eye.

It looked like a place that sold ice cream.

No. We have to eat dinner.

As an appetizer. Just a little.

He looked at me with a pleading look and nodded as if he had no choice.

We went to the front of the shop.

How do you sell ice cream?

One cone for two euros. How do you want it?

Two, please.

It seemed like he scooped ice cream on a conical pastry. I only ate ice cream by spoon or straw, so I was looking forward to it.

The ice cream that the owner scooped was so chewy that it made me more excited.

Here you go.

Thank you.

I tried to grab the ice cream, but he suddenly turned the handle.

I glared at him, wondering what he was doing, and he smiled.

Go ahead and take it.

He shrugged his shoulders and handed it over again, and I reached out again, but he avoided it.

Hee hee hee.

Grandfather made a sound and looked up, wondering what was so funny, and he kept laughing.

I turned my head and looked at the ice cream shop owner, and he apologized with his palm open.

He should have done that earlier.

I grabbed the pastry called cone, and another cone came out with the ice cream like a matryoshka, leaving only the empty pastry in my hand.

Did he mean to eat the pastry first?

Crunch.

It was crispy but tasteless.

I frowned, wanting to eat the ice cream quickly, and the owner looked more embarrassed.

Give it to me quickly.

Huh?

Dont play with food. Do you do business to tease people who want to eat ice cream?

I got angry and grandfather looked at me.

Ha ha ha. Hoon-ah, this is how you play and eat.

I frowned, not understanding, and the owner apologized and put another lump of ice cream on top.

Ill climb on the counter if he takes it away again.

Here, Im sorry if you felt bad. Have fun playing.

Crunch.

Ill forgive him because its delicious.

*****

1)In 2012, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Klimts birth, a steel staircase was installed to view the mural located 12m above the ground.

The measure of the Vienna Art Museum to allow direct viewing received a great response and was installed several times afterwards.