Gustav Klimt – Poppy Field

Poppy Field is Klimt’s summer meadow of 1907, full of red poppies among blue, white and violet flowers, with a narrow strip of sky at the very top. The original hangs in the Upper Belvedere in Vienna and is one of Klimt’s most colourful works without gold. 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.

Poppy Field – Gustav Klimt

What does the painting show?

In front of us is a meadow that rises almost to the top of the canvas. Red poppies are scattered across it, and between them grow tiny blue, white, violet and yellow flowers. Two thin young trees with green crowns stand on the left and right, darker round treetops behind them, and three small trees on the horizon. The sky is only a narrow, pale band at the very top.

The poppies are thickest at the bottom and towards the middle, where the red gathers into a kind of path leading deeper into the meadow. Everything is painted in small, lively dabs of colour, so close up the painting looks like a mosaic and from across the room like a carpet in bloom. At the lower right is the signature GUSTAV KLIMT.

Summers at Lake Attersee

After 1900 Klimt spent his summers at Lake Attersee in Upper Austria, far from the Vienna studios and the portrait commissions. There he painted landscapes he had no time for in the city, almost always on a square canvas.

Poppy Field was made during one of those summer stays in 1907, in the same years as his most famous golden paintings. Put it next to The Kiss and it is hard to believe the same hand painted both: there gold and figures, here only a meadow, poppies and light.

What does the painting mean?

The Belvedere describes the painting as a floral tapestry made of lively dabs of colour, with the red of the poppies dominating. There is no sunlight and no shadow, only here and there an outlined tree and a grey strip of sky above a high horizon.

For his colours Klimt took inspiration from the French Impressionists, but he did not paint a passing moment. His meadow feels lasting and calm, as if summer had stood still. That is why it never tires on a wall: the eye can wander for a long time from poppy to poppy and always find something new.

How did the painting come to the Belvedere?

In 1957 the Belvedere acquired the painting in an exchange with the collector Rudolf Leopold. Since then it has been in the museum’s collection under inventory number 5166, and it hangs in the Upper Belvedere, the same palace where visitors see The Kiss.

So if you travel to Vienna, you can see it in person, together with other landscapes by Klimt. The basic data on the painting are also gathered in its Wikidata record. Its name changes from language to language – Blühender Mohn, Mohnwiese, Flowering Poppies – but it is always the same work.

Poppy Field among Klimt’s works

Poppy Field is one of Klimt’s square landscapes, which we paint in the same sizes. Its closest relative is Farm Garden with Sunflowers, another summer subject without gold. For calmer, greener nature there is Apple Tree I.

If you like Klimt in full, happy colour, also look at Baby (Cradle), one of his last paintings, where colourful blankets tumble towards the viewer. And for contrast, see Tree of Life, where nature turns into golden ornament with spirals.

How is our hand-painted Poppy Field made?

The painter first underpaints the meadow in greens, lighter at the bottom and darker towards the trees, and paints the trees and the narrow strip of sky. Then the flowers begin: thousands of small dabs of red, blue, white, violet and yellow, set one beside the other, the way Klimt worked.

That small brushstroke is the heart of the painting, so we paint it patiently and in several layers, so that the poppies glow against the green ground. Every painting is a hand-painted copy made for your order, so no two are ever quite the same.

A print can show the red and the green, but only an oil painting reproduction carries the fine relief of thousands of strokes that gives the meadow its life and catches the light in the room.

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 120 x 120 or 150 x 150 cm for a large wall. The original measures 110 x 110 cm, so our 110 x 110 cm size is the same as the painting in the Belvedere.

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. Poppy Field is painted in very fine detail, so it comes alive in larger sizes and works like a window onto a meadow. Even a small canvas brings summer into a room, though, so 60 x 60 or 70 x 70 cm is a lovely choice for a bedroom, kitchen or work corner. A painting for the living room should take up about two thirds of the width of the furniture below it; above a sofa 150 cm wide, that is 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.

Custom size, stretcher and frame

If none of the eight sizes fits your wall, 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. Natural wood or a white frame suits the green meadow with its red poppies; a slim gold frame adds a touch of occasion.

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 Poppy Field?

The original belongs to the Belvedere in Vienna, under inventory number 5166, and is on view in the Upper Belvedere, the same building as The Kiss. The canvas measures 110 x 110 cm and is signed GUSTAV KLIMT at the lower right. The museum acquired it in 1957 in an exchange with the collector Rudolf Leopold.

What does Poppy Field show?

It shows a summer meadow full of red poppies, with blue, white, violet and yellow flowers growing among them. Two thin young trees with green crowns stand left and right, with darker round treetops behind them and three small trees on the horizon. The meadow reaches almost to the top; the sky is only a narrow, pale band.

When was Poppy Field painted?

It was painted in 1907, during one of the summers Klimt spent at Lake Attersee in Upper Austria after 1900. Those are the same years in which The Kiss was made, so Poppy Field is good proof that Klimt did not paint only gold. Here everything is colour, without a single flake of gold.

Is Poppy Field an Impressionist painting?

Not quite. Klimt took inspiration from the French Impressionists for the bright colours and small strokes, but he did not paint a fleeting impression of light at a certain hour. His meadow has no sun and no shadows; everything is even and calm. The Belvedere therefore speaks of a lasting harmony rather than a moment, which sets it apart from Impressionism.

Why are there no shadows in Poppy Field?

Because Klimt did not paint the meadow as a scene at a certain time of day but as a surface of pattern. Without sun and shadow only the colours remain, spread evenly over the whole canvas, as on a tapestry. The high horizon and the narrow strip of sky strengthen that effect, so the painting works like a carpet in bloom.

Is your Poppy Field painted by hand?

Yes, it is painted entirely by hand in oil on canvas. The painter sets thousands of small strokes of red, blue and white side by side, so the surface has a relief that a print does not have. Every canvas painting of ours is made for your order, and before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished work to approve.

Which size of Poppy Field is right for my wall?

For most walls a middle or larger size is right, because the subject is painted in such fine detail. Above a sofa or bed choose 90 x 90 or 100 x 100 cm, above a chest of drawers 70 x 70 cm, and for a large wall 120 x 120 cm. The original is 110 x 110 cm. The rule of two thirds of the furniture width helps.

Can I hang Poppy Field as a pair with Farm Garden with Sunflowers?

Yes, it is one of the loveliest combinations. Both paintings are square, both are summer landscapes by Klimt without gold, and we paint both in the same eight sizes. Hang them side by side about 10 cm apart, or on either side of a window or a bed. The red poppies and the yellow sunflowers complement each other beautifully.

How do I care for my Poppy Field?

Once dry, oil paint is durable, so care is simple. Now and then wipe the painting with a soft, dry cloth or brush, without water or cleaning products. Do not hang it above a radiator or where strong sun falls on it all day, because heat and light do the canvas no good over time. That way the poppies stay bright red for a long time.

• Subject: a summer meadow with red poppies, thin trees and a narrow strip of sky.
• Original: 1907, oil on canvas, 110 x 110 cm, Upper Belvedere, Vienna.
• Ours: a Klimt reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, in eight sizes or made to measure.
• Worth knowing: you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.