Description
Italian Garden Landscape is a square landscape that Gustav Klimt painted in 1913 on his summer stay at Lake Garda: a garden bed full of pink and white roses and red, violet and blue flowers rises steeply across the canvas, painted in short, dense dabs, with only a strip of path and the pale edge of a building at the top. The original is in the Kunsthaus Zug in Switzerland. 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: | Italian Garden Landscape |
| Other titles: | Italienische Gartenlandschaft · Paesaggio di giardino italiano · Italijanska vrtna krajina |
| Painter: | Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) |
| Year painted: | 1913 |
| Original size: | 110 cm x 110 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Vienna, Klimt’s landscapes |
| Located at: | Kunsthaus Zug (Stiftung Sammlung Kamm), Switzerland |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, eight square sizes or made to measure |
Italian Garden Landscape – Gustav Klimt
What does the painting show?
A garden seen from close up and slightly from below fills almost the whole square. Masses of pink and white roses climb across the canvas, mixed with red, violet and blue flowers and many shades of green leaves. Klimt painted them in short, dense, almost pointillist dabs of colour, so that from a distance they melt into one shimmering surface and from close up every flower is a separate touch of the brush.
Only at the very top does the eye find something solid: a strip of path and the pale edge of a building. There is almost no sky. The painting is all flowers and light, signed in the lower right corner, and it feels like standing in a southern garden at the height of summer.
Where did Klimt paint Italian Garden Landscape?
On Lake Garda in northern Italy, in the summer of 1913. Klimt usually spent his summers in the country and painted landscapes there, most of them on square canvases. In 1913 he stayed at Lake Garda, and the same summer gave us this garden and the view of the town of Malcesine on Lake Garda, which we also paint.
For a buyer this matters because the two paintings belong together: one shows the houses and the lake, the other the gardens on the shore. Hung side by side they tell the story of one Italian summer. On their own, each is a complete, bright landscape that needs no explanation.
Why do people love this garden?
Because it is pure colour without a heavy subject. There are no people, no story to decode and no gold, only flowers, leaves and light. Many buyers choose it for exactly that reason: it brings a summer garden into a room and stays cheerful in every season.
It also shows a side of Klimt that many people do not know. Famous for gold and portraits of women, he was at the same time a quiet landscape painter, and in his late gardens he worked almost like the French Impressionists, building whole paintings out of small spots of colour.
Where is the original?
The original, an oil on canvas of 110 x 110 cm, is in the Kunsthaus Zug in Switzerland, in the Stiftung Sammlung Kamm, a foundation collection. The museum’s own page did not answer when we checked, so please ask the museum before you plan a visit to see whether the painting is on display.
More about the painter’s life is on Wikipedia, and the list of paintings by Gustav Klimt shows how many landscapes he painted. Our version is not a print: it is painted for you, by hand, at the size you choose.
Italian Garden Landscape among Klimt’s landscapes
Our gallery holds several of Klimt’s square summer landscapes, and they make good companions. Besides Malcesine, you can choose the red Poppy Field, the colourful Flower Garden or the green, almost abstract The Park.
Choose Italian Garden Landscape if you love roses and soft pinks: it is lighter and more delicate than Flower Garden, which is dominated by orange. If you prefer red, take Poppy Field; if you want calm green, The Park. Two of them, in the same size, also make a strong pair on one wall.
How do we paint Italian Garden Landscape by hand?
The painter first divides the square into the main zones: the climbing roses, the path and the pale building edge at the top. Then the greens are laid in, from dark to light, and on top of them come thousands of small dabs of pink, white, red, violet and blue, each one set by hand, the way Klimt built up the original.
Patience matters more than anything else here, because the effect comes from the rhythm of the many small strokes. A printed oil painting reproduction turns them into a flat pattern; by hand, every flower keeps its own relief and catches the light. Every painting is a hand-painted copy made for your order, so no two are ever quite the same.
There is no gold in this landscape, so we paint it in oil colours only, as Klimt did.
Which size for which wall?
Short answer: 100 x 100 or 110 x 110 cm above a sofa or a bed, 120 x 120 or 150 x 150 cm for a large wall, and 60 x 60 to 80 x 80 cm for a hallway, a bedroom or a dining corner. The 110 x 110 cm size is exactly the size of the original.
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 too, every size keeps its proportion exactly. Above a sofa, choose a painting about two thirds as wide as the sofa; as a painting for the living room, 100 x 100 cm or more lets the many small flowers be seen from across the room.
Hang it with the centre of the canvas about 150 cm above the floor; above a sofa, leave 20 to 30 cm between the back of the sofa and the lower edge of the canvas.
Custom size, stretcher and frame
If none of the eight sizes fits your wall, we paint it to measure; keep it square, like the original. 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. A white or light wooden frame keeps the garden fresh; a slim gold frame warms the pinks.
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 Italian Garden Landscape?
The original is in the Kunsthaus Zug in Switzerland, in the Stiftung Sammlung Kamm. It is an oil on canvas of 110 x 110 cm, painted in 1913. Because we could not confirm the current display on the museum’s own website, ask the museum before you plan a visit to see whether it is on view.
When did Klimt paint Italian Garden Landscape?
Klimt painted it in 1913, during his summer stay at Lake Garda in northern Italy. It is one of his late landscapes, painted after the golden period, when he worked with small, dense dabs of pure colour. The same summer he also painted the view of the town of Malcesine across the lake.
What does Italian Garden Landscape show?
It shows a garden bed full of pink and white roses with red, violet and blue flowers and green leaves, rising steeply across the square. At the top there is only a strip of path and the pale edge of a building, and almost no sky. The whole canvas is flowers and light, painted in short, dense strokes.
Why is Italian Garden Landscape square?
Klimt painted most of his landscapes on square canvases, and this one is 110 x 110 cm. The square has no up-and-down movement, so the eye wanders calmly across the flowers like across a carpet. Our copies keep this exactly: all eight sizes we offer are square, from 60 x 60 to 150 x 150 cm.
Does Italian Garden Landscape go with Malcesine on Lake Garda?
Yes, the two belong together: Klimt painted both on Lake Garda in the summer of 1913. Malcesine shows the houses and the lake, the garden shows the flowers on the shore. Hung side by side in the same size, for example two 100 x 100 cm canvases, they tell the story of one Italian summer.
Is there gold in Italian Garden Landscape?
No, there is no gold in this landscape; it is painted only with colour. Its glow comes from the pinks, whites and greens and from the many small strokes that catch the light. We therefore paint our version in oil colours only, without gold paint, just as Klimt painted the original.
Which size of Italian Garden Landscape suits my wall?
Above a sofa or a bed, 100 x 100 or 110 x 110 cm is a good choice, and 110 x 110 cm is the size of the original. A large wall can take 120 x 120 or 150 x 150 cm, while 60 x 60 to 80 x 80 cm suits a hallway or a small room. Every size keeps the square proportion.
Which room does Italian Garden Landscape suit?
It suits a living room, a bedroom, a dining room or a sunny hallway. Its pinks and greens go well with white, beige, light wood and natural materials, and they bring a summer feeling into rooms facing north. As a canvas painting with no figures, it is also a calm choice for an office or a guest room.
Is Italian Garden Landscape a good gift?
Yes, for anyone who loves gardens, roses, Italy or Klimt beyond the famous gold. It is cheerful, easy to live with and suits almost any home. If you are unsure of the size, choose 80 x 80 or 100 x 100 cm, or give a voucher so that they can choose the painting and the size themselves.
- Subject: a garden bed of pink and white roses and red, violet and blue flowers on Lake Garda, almost without sky.
- Original: 1913, oil on canvas, 110 x 110 cm, Kunsthaus Zug, Switzerland.
- 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.
