Gustav Klimt – Pine Forest II

Pine Forest II is Klimt’s look into the heart of a dense pine wood, painted in 1901: straight, dark brown-red trunks stand side by side across the whole square, and high up between them only tiny points of light flicker, hinting at the open sky. The original, about 90 x 90 cm, is in a private collection. We paint it for you by hand in oil on canvas, in five square sizes from 60 x 60 to 100 x 100 cm, and before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished work to approve.

Pine Forest II – Gustav Klimt

What does the painting show?

The painting stands us in front of a dense pine wood, with the view tilted slightly downwards into the shade between the trees. Straight trunks in dark brown and reddish tones stand side by side across the whole square, like a row of columns with no end in sight. Between them there is no path and no clearing, no people and no animals.

Below lies a green-grey forest floor with a few brighter patches where the light touches it. High up, between the trunks, a tiny point of light flickers here and there – only a few dots that give away the open sky above the wood. Those small lights are what the eye goes looking for as you step closer.

What is Pointillism, and how does it show in Pine Forest II?

Pointillism is a way of painting in which colour is not spread in flat areas but laid on in tiny dots and short dabs of the brush, which only blend in the eye of the viewer. The name comes from the French word for a point, and it is best known from the paintings of Georges Seurat and Paul Signac.

Klimt does not use it strictly here, but as an influence: trunks, ground and light are built from delicate, small strokes, so the surface shimmers up close and melts into a calm, dark forest from a distance. That is why the painting looks different on the wall depending on where you stand – from across the room a dark, quiet surface, close up a weave of small touches of colour.

What does the painting mean?

Pine Forest II is often described as a meditative landscape of growth. The trunks grow upwards, evenly and without hurry, and the space between them is closed and silent. There is no action and no story – only growth, shade and a little light coming from somewhere above.

So this is not a decoration that asks for attention, but a resting place for the eye. People who choose it are often looking for exactly that: a painting to unwind in front of after a long day, in a bedroom, a reading corner or a study with too many screens and too little quiet.

Where is the painting today, and what is Pine Forest I?

Klimt painted it in 1901, in oil on canvas, at about 90 x 90 cm. It has a companion canvas: Pine Forest I is now at the Kunsthaus Zug in Switzerland, where it is held on deposit from the Kamm Foundation, while Pine Forest II is in a private collection and cannot be seen in any public gallery.

That is exactly why a hand-painted version is, for most people, the only way to hang this forest on their own wall. A list of Klimt’s works is on Wikipedia’s list of his paintings, and more on the painter himself is in the Wikipedia article on Gustav Klimt.

Pine Forest II among Klimt’s works

Klimt’s landscapes are related, yet each has its own mood. The closest is Forest of Beech Trees, painted a year later, with white and brown trunks above a warm orange carpet of leaves. Green treetops above thin trunks fill The Park, a meadow of red flowers is Poppy Field, and a tree heavy with fruit is Apple Tree I. Its companion of the same year, Pine Forest I, is darker and denser: the trunks fill the whole canvas and there is no sky at all.

Between the two forests, choose like this: Forest of Beech Trees is warm, autumnal and available up to 150 x 150 cm; Pine Forest II is cooler, darker and quieter, and better suited to a small or medium wall. If you love deep greens and browns and want a room that feels like a retreat, Pine Forest II is the one.

How is our hand-painted Pine Forest II made?

The painter first divides the square into trunks and the gaps between them, because that row of columns is the backbone of the painting. Then come thin layers of the dark shade of the wood and the green-grey ground, and only after that the trunks, each with warm brown and reddish shades of bark.

The most exacting part comes last. With a fine brush the painter adds, in small dabs, the brighter patches on the ground and a few points of light high between the trunks, placed as Klimt placed them with his Pointillism-influenced touch. There are only a few, so every one counts: too much light would open the forest up, too little would shut it.

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 those small dabs – in print the dark wood is just a dark surface, while on canvas you can see it built up layer by layer.

Which size for which wall?

Short answer: 90 x 90 or 100 x 100 cm above a sofa or bed, 70 x 70 cm above a chest of drawers or in a smaller room, and 60 x 60 cm for a hallway or beside a desk. The 90 x 90 cm size is roughly the size of the original.

There are five square sizes: 60 x 60, 70 x 70, 80 x 80, 90 x 90 and 100 x 100 cm. We do not offer larger sizes of this painting, because the source we paint from does not hold enough fine detail for a bigger canvas. As the forest is dark, a smaller size looks focused and strong on a light wall, while a larger one fills the room with depth. A painting for the living room should take up about two thirds of the width of the furniture below it; above a sofa 140 cm wide, that is 90 x 90 cm, and above a wider one 100 x 100 cm.

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. The dark forest looks its best on a white, cream or pale grey wall, with a warm side light that brings out the small points of light.

Custom size, stretcher and frame

If you need a different proportion or an in-between size up to 100 x 100 cm, we paint it to measure; it works best kept square, like the original. 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. The dark trunks suit a slim frame in light natural wood, which opens the painting up, or a narrow black frame, which deepens it.

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 Pine Forest II by Klimt?

The original is in a private collection, so it belongs to no public museum and is not on permanent display. The canvas is painted in oil and measures about 90 x 90 cm. Its companion, Pine Forest I, can however be seen at the Kunsthaus Zug in Switzerland, where it is on deposit from the Kamm Foundation.

What does Klimt’s Pine Forest II show?

It shows the inside of a dense pine wood: straight, dark brown-red trunks stand side by side across the whole square, above a green-grey floor with a few bright patches. High between the trunks only tiny points of light shine, pointing to the open sky. There are no people, no path and no clearing, only trunks, shade and silence.

What is the difference between Pine Forest I and Pine Forest II?

They are two separate canvases with the same subject, a pine wood. The first is now held by the Kunsthaus Zug in Switzerland on deposit from the Kamm Foundation, while the second, Pine Forest II, is in a private collection. We offer Pine Forest II, in five square sizes up to 100 x 100 cm, slightly larger than the original.

Is Pine Forest II too dark for my room?

Not if you hang it on a light wall. Dark trunks on a white, cream or pale grey wall read like a deep window, and the tiny points of light glow under a warm side light. In a very dark room with dark walls, choose a smaller size instead, such as 60 x 60 or 70 x 70 cm, and a light wooden frame that opens the painting up.

Is your Pine Forest II really painted by hand?

Yes. Every Pine Forest II we send is a canvas painting made by hand in oil, from dividing up the trunks to the last tiny points of light between them. Those fine dabs give it a depth that print cannot reach. Before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting so you can approve it or ask for a correction.

How large can you paint Pine Forest II?

We paint this one up to 100 x 100 cm. It comes in 60 x 60, 70 x 70, 80 x 80, 90 x 90 and 100 x 100 cm, and 90 x 90 cm is roughly the size of the original. We do not offer larger sizes because the source does not hold enough detail; for a very large wall, Forest of Beech Trees is the better choice, as we paint it up to 150 x 150 cm.

Which frame suits Pine Forest II?

A slim frame in light natural wood suits it best, adding warmth to the dark forest and opening it up on the wall. If you want to stress its depth, choose a narrow black frame. Wide ornate frames do not suit this quiet painting. You can compare every profile in our 3D application, and without a frame the canvas arrives stretched and ready to hang.

Where should I hang Pine Forest II?

Pine Forest II looks best where you want calm: in the bedroom above the bed, in a reading corner, in a study or in the living room above the sofa. It sits well with natural wood, linen, stone and green plants. With no figures and no loud colours, you can look at it every day and still find a new point of light.

Is Pine Forest II a good gift?

Yes, especially for someone who loves the woods, walking or quiet. Because it is calm and free of personal subjects, it suits almost any home. If you do not know the size of the wall, a voucher is the better present, since the person receiving it chooses the size and frame. We paint to order, so order at least six weeks before the occasion.

• Subject: the inside of a dense pine wood, dark trunks and tiny points of light high between them.
• Original: 1901, oil on canvas, about 90 x 90 cm, private collection.
• Ours: a Klimt reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, in five square sizes up to 100 x 100 cm.
• Worth knowing: 90 x 90 cm is roughly the size of the original, and you approve a photograph before dispatch.