Description
Goldfish is Klimt’s painting of 1901–1902: a tall, narrow canvas of nude water nymphs, with a red-haired woman at the bottom looking back at us over her shoulder and a large golden fish with a staring eye above her. The original, oil and gold leaf on canvas, belongs to the Kunstmuseum Solothurn in Switzerland. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas, in tall sizes up to the size of the original or made to measure, and before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished work to approve.
| Title: | Goldfish |
| Other titles: | Goldfische · To my critics |
| Painter: | Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) |
| Year painted: | 1901–1902 |
| Original size: | 181 cm x 66.5 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil and gold leaf on canvas |
| Painting style: | Vienna Secession, golden period |
| Located at: | Kunstmuseum Solothurn, Dübi-Müller-Stiftung, Switzerland |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, gold in gold paint, tall sizes or made to measure |
Goldfish – Gustav Klimt
What does the painting show?
The canvas is almost three times as tall as it is wide, and we read it like a look through deep water, from the bottom up to the surface. At the very bottom lies a red-haired woman with her back to us; she turns her head over her shoulder and looks at us with a slightly mischievous smile. Her long, fiery red hair spreads through the water, and her body is painted soft and warm, in strong contrast to the dark ground.
Above her swims a large golden fish with a round, staring eye, which feels almost like a third onlooker inside the painting. Higher still, further female faces appear in the dark water, along with a reclining figure whose long hair the current carries upwards. Gold is scattered across the whole canvas: tiny dots, flakes and sparks that glint on the dark water like scales or bubbles.
Why did Klimt supposedly want to call it To my critics?
Around 1900 Klimt was painting large ceiling paintings for the University of Vienna, representing Philosophy, Medicine and Jurisprudence. Their nude figures and dark, puzzling symbolism caused a furious reaction: professors and newspapers accused him of indecency, and the paintings were even argued over in parliament. Klimt was hurt, and he answered his critics not with words but with the brush.
According to an often repeated story, he first wanted to call Goldfish To my critics. The woman who shows the viewer her back and smiles at him over her shoulder was meant as his very clear reply. Friends are said to have talked him out of the title, and the painting kept the name of the fish. No document proves the story, but it fits the spirit of the work well.
What does the painting mean?
For Klimt, water was a world of femininity, dreams and seduction. The nymphs are not goddesses from myth but modern Viennese women who have moved into the depths and live there without shame. Fish, waves of hair and the soft lines of the bodies give the feeling that everything is floating and slowly turning, as if time had stopped below the surface.
The gold here is not solemn as in the portraits but playful, scattered like light falling through water. The painting is bold and witty at once. Today you look in it less for a story than for a mood: the warm red of the hair, the dark depth and the gold that lights up like sparks in the evening light.
Where is the painting today?
The original belongs to the Kunstmuseum Solothurn in Switzerland, where it is part of the Dübi-Müller-Stiftung. Solothurn is a small town between Bern and Basel, which makes this one of the few major Klimt paintings that cannot be seen in Vienna. If you travel through Switzerland, you can see it in person and find out how tall and slender the canvas really is.
The painting was made in 1901 and 1902, at the same time as Klimt’s famous Judith and just before the start of his golden period. The original is 181 cm high and 66.5 cm wide, roughly the height of an adult. That is part of its effect too: the nymphs and the fish are almost life-size.
How is Goldfish related to Water Serpents?
Klimt returned to women in water for years. A few years after Goldfish he painted Water Serpents I and Water Serpents II, where female bodies twine with water plants and fish and the gold is richer still. If you love Goldfish, you will find the same dreamy underwater mood in both.
The female body and gold also link Judith I, painted almost at the same time, and the late work Girlfriends, which burned in 1945. Goldfish stands out for its humour, though: it is one of the few Klimt paintings where the painter seems to be smiling at the viewer.
How is our hand-painted version made?
The painter first draws the figures, the faces, the fish and the flow of the hair onto the tall canvas with a fine line. The dark water is then painted in several layers so it gains depth, and only after that come the bodies, soft and warm, so the skin glows against the dark ground. The red hair of the woman at the bottom gets several layers of colour so it looks alive and full of movement.
The gold in our painting is not printed, and it is not leaf as in the original. We use gold paint, which the painter applies by hand with a brush, dot by dot and layer by layer, so the fish and the scattered sparks shine in a warm gold tone.
Every painting is a hand-painted copy made for your order, so no two are ever quite the same. A printed oil painting reproduction cannot show the relief of the brushstrokes and the shine of the gold paint that you can see and feel on the canvas.
Which size for which wall?
Short answer: 50 x 140 cm for most walls, 40 x 110 cm for a narrow wall between doors or a hallway, and 30 x 80 cm for the smallest space. For a tall wall or beside a staircase choose 60 x 165 cm or 66 x 181 cm, the size of the original, and for very high rooms 80 x 220, 90 x 250 or 100 x 270 cm.
The good news: all our sizes follow the proportion of the original, which is almost three times as tall as it is wide, so the painting keeps its slender shape at every size. With its dark water and gold sparks it works well in a bedroom, a well-ventilated bathroom or an entrance hall. A painting for the living room should take up about two thirds of the width of the furniture below it, while a narrow tall format fills the wall beside a window or between two cupboards best.
Hang it with the centre of the canvas about 150 cm above the floor, and 20 to 30 cm above a chest of drawers or a sofa.
Custom size, stretcher and frame
If you need a different size, for example for an alcove or a wall of an exact width, we paint it to measure. Send us the width and height 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. A slim gold or a black frame suits the dark water well.
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.
Every other Klimt work we paint is in the Gustav Klimt gallery, and there is more about the painter in our ten facts about Klimt. If the painting is a gift and you are unsure of the size, there is a wall art voucher: the recipient chooses the size and the subject.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Klimt’s Goldfish?
The original belongs to the Kunstmuseum Solothurn in Switzerland, where it is part of the Dübi-Müller-Stiftung. Solothurn lies between Bern and Basel. It is one of the few major Klimt paintings that are not in Vienna, which is why it is less well known than his works in the Belvedere, although many Klimt lovers count it among his wittiest.
What is the meaning of Goldfish by Klimt?
The painting shows an underwater world of nude nymphs and a large golden fish, and for Klimt water was a world of femininity, dreams and seduction. The woman at the bottom, who shows the viewer her back and smiles over her shoulder, is read as Klimt’s cheeky greeting to his critics. The work is bold, playful and full of gold at once.
When was Goldfish painted?
The painting dates from 1901–1902, the same years as Judith I and just before Klimt’s golden period. The original is 181 cm high and 66.5 cm wide, painted in oil with gold leaf on canvas. Klimt was then almost forty and under fierce attack for the ceiling paintings he was making for the university.
Did Klimt really want to call Goldfish To my critics?
That is what an often repeated story says, and no document proves it. Klimt’s ceiling paintings for the University of Vienna were being attacked harshly at the time, and the woman who turns her back on the viewer is said to have been his answer. You can read more about the painter and the university dispute on Wikipedia.
Is the gold on your Goldfish real gold?
In the original Klimt used real gold leaf, which shines on the fish and in the scattered sparks. On ours the gold is not leaf: we paint it in gold paint, which the painter applies by hand with a brush, dot by dot and layer by layer. That way the whole canvas painting, the fish and every spark included, is painted by hand.
What sizes can I order Goldfish in?
There are tall sizes from 30 x 80 to 100 x 270 cm, among them 40 x 110, 50 x 140, 60 x 165 and 66 x 181 cm, the size of the original. All of them follow the proportion of the original, so the painting stays slender at every size. For a particular wall we also paint it to measure and quote the price in advance.
Which room suits Goldfish?
Since the painting shows nude figures, most people hang it in a bedroom, a bathroom or a more private part of the home. The narrow, tall shape suits the wall beside a window, between two doors or by the stairs. Dark water and gold sparks look best in warm light, so hang it where a lamp falls on it in the evening.
Is Goldfish a good gift?
Yes, for Klimt lovers looking for something less familiar than The Kiss, or for anyone who loves water, the sea and playful humour. Because the painting shows nudity, think about where the recipient will hang it. If you are unsure of the size, choose a wall art voucher; before dispatch you always receive a photograph of the finished painting.
How long does it take to paint Goldfish?
Allow 15 to 45 days depending on the size. Smaller sizes are ready sooner; the largest take the painter longer, because the dark water is painted in several layers, then the bodies and hair, and finally the gold is applied by hand, with each layer left to dry. When the painting is finished you receive a photograph to approve.
- Subject: nude water nymphs, a red-haired woman looking over her shoulder and a large golden fish in dark water.
- Original: 1901–1902, 181 x 66.5 cm, Kunstmuseum Solothurn, Switzerland.
- Ours: a Klimt reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, gold in gold paint, in tall sizes or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.
