Description
Apple Tree II is a late Klimt landscape from 1916: one large apple tree fills almost the whole square, its dense dark crown dotted with yellow-green and orange apples, under a grey-violet sky with a row of small trees on the horizon. The original, 80 by 80 cm, belongs to the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, and its history includes one of the strangest mix-ups in Austrian restitution. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas in eight square sizes from 60 x 60 to 150 x 150 cm or to your own measurement, and send you a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.
| Title: | Apple Tree II |
| Other titles: | Apfelbaum II · Melo II · Jablana II |
| Painter: | Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) |
| Year painted: | 1916 |
| Original size: | 80 cm x 80 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Vienna Secession, late landscape |
| Located at: | Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, eight square sizes or made to measure |
Apple Tree II – Gustav Klimt
What does the painting show?
A single apple tree stands in the middle of the canvas and takes up most of it. Its crown is dense and dark, a mass of small green leaves, and all through it hang apples – yellow-green and orange dots that light up the dark foliage. The trunk is short; the tree seems to grow straight out of a narrow strip of meadow at the bottom edge.
Above and around the crown there is only a little sky, grey-violet and broken up with small white dabs. Low on the horizon runs a row of small trees, which shows how close we are standing to the big one. There is no person, no house and no gold: just one tree at harvest time, painted in short, mosaic-like strokes that make the whole surface shimmer.
Why is Apple Tree II famous beyond Klimt’s circle?
Because of its history after the war. In 2001 the Belvedere in Vienna returned the painting to the heirs of Nora Stiasny, after research into where it had come from. But the research had confused it with another Klimt landscape, Roses under the Trees.
In 2017 it was confirmed that this painting had in fact come from the Lederer collection, one of the great Viennese collections of Klimt’s work. It remains the only known case of an Austrian federal museum restituting a work to the wrong heirs. Today the painting is in the collection of the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. The full story is summarised on Wikipedia.
Apple Tree I or Apple Tree II – which is which?
Klimt painted more than one apple tree, and we paint both. Apple Tree I is the earlier one, from around 1912, and hangs in the Belvedere in Vienna; there the tree stands in a meadow full of flowers. Apple Tree II, on this page, is the later one, from 1916: the tree is bigger and darker, the flowers have gone, and the apples are ripe.
If you want a brighter, more open garden scene, choose Apple Tree I. If you like a deep, calm green with warm dots of fruit, Apple Tree II is the one. Hung side by side, the two make a pair: early summer and late summer by the same hand.
Where is the original, and how big is it?
The original is in the collection of the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. It is painted in oil on canvas and measures 80 by 80 cm – not large, a size that would fit over a sideboard in an ordinary flat. Klimt chose the square for almost all his landscapes, and here it suits the round crown perfectly.
Klimt painted his landscapes in the summer, away from his Vienna studio, and 1916 was one of his last summers: he died early in 1918. More about his life is on Wikipedia. Our version is not a print: it is painted for you, by hand, at the size you choose.
Apple Tree II among Klimt’s landscapes
Klimt’s landscapes are among the most loved of his works, and our gallery has several to compare. Poppy Field of 1907 is a meadow full of red flowers with small trees at the top – the same square, but bright and open. The Park, from around 1910, goes in the other direction: almost the whole canvas is a wall of foliage, with only a strip of ground below, which makes it the closest relative of Apple Tree II. Italian Garden Landscape of 1913 brings in flowers and houses in strong colour.
Choose Apple Tree II if you want one strong motif and a deep, restful green. For more colour and light, Poppy Field; for green that covers the whole wall, The Park.
How do we paint Apple Tree II by hand?
The painter first lays in the large dark shape of the crown and the grey-violet sky, then builds up the foliage in many small strokes, layer over layer, so that it has depth and is not one flat green. The apples come last: yellow-green and orange dots set into the leaves one by one, as Klimt did, with the white dabs in the sky and the small trees on the horizon.
This is slow work and the reason a printed oil painting reproduction looks flat beside a painted one: by hand every stroke stands up slightly from the canvas and catches the light. Every painting is a hand-painted copy made for your order, so no two are ever quite the same.
Which size for which wall?
Short answer: 80 x 80 cm is the size of the original and fits over a sideboard, a desk or in a hallway. Above a sofa or a bed, 100 x 100 or 110 x 110 cm. For a small wall or a kitchen, 60 x 60 or 70 x 70 cm, and for a large wall 120 x 120 or 150 x 150 cm.
There are eight square sizes: 60 x 60, 70 x 70, 80 x 80, 90 x 90, 100 x 100, 110 x 110, 120 x 120 and 150 x 150 cm. Because the original is square, every size keeps the composition exactly as it is – the crown in the middle, the meadow at the bottom, the sky around it. A painting for the living room should take up about two thirds of the width of the furniture below it; above a sofa 160 cm wide, that is 100 x 100 or 110 x 110 cm. The calm green also suits a bedroom, a dining room or a kitchen, where the fruit feels at home.
Hang it with the centre of the canvas about 150 cm above the floor, and 20 to 30 cm above a sofa or a headboard.
Custom size, stretcher and frame
If none of the eight sizes fits your wall, we paint it to measure; keep it square, so that the tree is not stretched. Send us the size you want and we will quote a price and a lead time. Every painting we make is stretched over a wooden stretcher and ready to hang.
For the moulding, use our 3D application: it shows every one of our frame profiles on this subject, so you can compare gold, silver, black, white and natural wood before deciding – the application is for choosing the frame only. If you would like to see how the painting will look on your own wall, that is our separate room placement service. Natural wood suits the green of the tree; a thin black frame makes the apples stand out more.
Delivery and guarantee
Every painting is made to order in our studio in Slovenia, so allow 15 to 45 days depending on the size you choose. We ship it stretched and protected for transport, framed if you chose a frame, across the EU with no customs. Before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished work to approve; if anything is not right, we correct it while the canvas is still in our workshop. Our returns policy applies to every order.
If it is a present and you do not know the right size, there is a wall art voucher. Every other Klimt work we paint is in the Gustav Klimt gallery, and there is more on the painter in our article ten interesting facts about Gustav Klimt.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original of Klimt’s Apple Tree II?
The original is in the collection of the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. It was painted in 1916 in oil on canvas and measures 80 by 80 cm. Before that it passed through a long restitution story, including a return in 2001 to heirs who, as was confirmed in 2017, were not the right ones.
What is the restitution story of Apple Tree II?
In 2001 the Belvedere in Vienna returned the painting to the heirs of Nora Stiasny, but it had been confused with another Klimt, Roses under the Trees. In 2017 it was confirmed that the painting came from the Lederer collection. It is the only known case of an Austrian federal museum restituting a work to the wrong heirs.
What is the difference between Apple Tree I and Apple Tree II?
Apple Tree I is the earlier painting, from around 1912, now in the Belvedere: a tree in a meadow full of flowers. Apple Tree II, from 1916, shows a bigger, darker tree with ripe yellow-green and orange apples and no flowers. Both are square, and we paint each by hand in the same eight sizes.
What does Klimt’s Apple Tree II show?
It shows one large apple tree filling most of the square: a dense, dark crown dotted with yellow-green and orange apples, a grey-violet sky with small white dabs, a row of small trees on the horizon and a narrow strip of meadow at the bottom. There are no people and no gold.
How big is the original Apple Tree II, and which size should I choose?
The original is 80 by 80 cm, so our 80 x 80 cm is exactly its size and fits over a sideboard or a desk. Above a sofa or a bed choose 100 x 100 or 110 x 110 cm; for a small wall, 60 x 60 cm; for a large wall, 120 x 120 or 150 x 150 cm.
Which room does Apple Tree II suit?
It suits a living room, a bedroom, a dining room or a kitchen. The deep green is restful and works with white, beige, grey and natural wood, and the fruit makes it warm. As a canvas painting with one clear motif it also works well in a hallway or an office, where people pass and look.
Is Apple Tree II a good gift?
Yes, especially for someone who loves gardens, nature or Vienna around 1900, or who already has a Klimt and wants a quieter one. It also makes a fine house-warming present. If you are unsure of the size, choose 80 x 80 cm, the size of the original, or give a voucher so the recipient can choose.
Can Apple Tree II and Apple Tree I hang together?
Yes. They are by the same painter, in the same square format and the same green, so they make a natural pair: one in early summer with flowers, one in late summer with ripe fruit. Choose the same size for both, for example two 70 x 70 cm canvases side by side above a sofa.
Is there gold in Klimt’s Apple Tree II?
No. Like all of Klimt’s landscapes, Apple Tree II is painted in oil colours only, without gold leaf. Its effect comes from thousands of small strokes of green, with the apples as warm points of light. If you are looking for gold, choose The Kiss or one of the golden portraits instead.
- Subject: one large apple tree with a dark crown full of yellow-green and orange apples, under a grey-violet sky.
- Original: 1916, oil on canvas, 80 x 80 cm, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris.
- Ours: a Klimt reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, in eight square sizes or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.
