Description
Water Serpents I is Klimt’s painting of 1904: two slender female figures, intertwined in an upright band, floating above the sea floor among golden seaweed, snake forms and sea creatures. The original is small, painted in watercolour, gouache, gold and other metals on parchment, and is kept by the Belvedere in Vienna. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas, in tall narrow sizes or to your own measurement, and send you a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.
| Title: | Water Serpents I |
| Other titles: | Girlfriends (Water Serpents I) · Freundinnen (Wasserschlangen I) · Serpenti d’acqua I · Vodne kače I |
| Painter: | Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) |
| Year painted: | 1904 (minor amendments 1907) |
| Original size: | 50 cm x 20 cm |
| Original technique: | Watercolour, gouache, pencil, gold, silver, platinum and brass on parchment |
| Painting style: | Vienna Secession, Golden Period |
| Located at: | Belvedere, Vienna (inv. 5077) |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas after the original on parchment, with gold paint |
Water Serpents I – Gustav Klimt
What does the painting show?
The painting is tall and narrow, two and a half times as high as it is wide. Along its length rise two slender female figures, closely intertwined, as if swimming straight up through water. One tilts her head back, the other leans against her; their pale bodies are long and delicate, and their hair spills into golden strands.
Around them wind golden seaweed, snake forms and stylised sea creatures, and at the bottom lies a large fish with blue patterns. Hair, plants and the patterned bodies of the animals are decorated with gold, silver and platinum, so the painting glitters in the light. Klimt even made the parchment itself part of the work: its skin-like surface belongs to the composition.
Why does the painting have two titles?
The Belvedere lists it as Girlfriends (Water Serpents I). Both titles describe the same thing: the first stresses the two women holding each other, the second the water beings Klimt painted in those years. In English the title Water Serpents I is more common, because it links the work with the later, larger Water Serpents II.
A word of caution when searching: this is not the same painting as Klimt’s later Girlfriends, which we also paint. That is a different, later work with another subject. If you are looking for a tall, narrow painting of golden water beings, you are on the right page.
What does the painting mean?
The Belvedere writes that Klimt’s water beings float dreamily above the sea floor among golden seaweed. There is no story and no hero, only two bodies giving themselves up to the water and to each other. That is why the painting feels calm and mysterious, like a look through a narrow window into an underwater world.
Many see in it tenderness, closeness and sensuality, which Klimt liked to paint in his Golden Period. The metallic shine on hair and plants creates a sense of light coming through water. The narrow format leads the eye from bottom to top, from the fish on the sea floor to the faces at the top.
Where is the original today?
The original is in the Belvedere in Vienna under inventory number 5077. The Austrian Gallery bought it in 1956 from the Galerie L. T. Neumann in Vienna. It is signed GUSTAV KLIMT at the lower right. It is currently not on display, since works on parchment are sensitive to light.
Klimt painted it in 1904 and made some minor amendments in 1907. The original is small, only 50 cm high and 20 cm wide, so every one of our sizes enlarges it considerably. With such a delicate work, enlargement shows how much detail Klimt fitted onto so small a surface.
Water Serpents I among Klimt’s works
Klimt painted the theme of water beings twice. The younger, larger sister of this painting is Water Serpents II, a long horizontal oil version in a private collection. How to choose: Water Serpents I is tall and narrow for a slim wall between doors or windows, Water Serpents II is a long painting for above a sofa or a bed.
In the same years Klimt also used gold and metals in Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I and in The Kiss. You can read more about the painter on Wikipedia.
How is our hand-painted version made?
The original is a watercolour with gold and metals on parchment; ours is a hand-painted oil copy after Klimt’s watercolour original, on canvas. The painter first draws the two figures and the fish at the bottom, then paints the pale skin and the greenish water in thin layers, and finally the seaweed, the patterns and the hair. Gold, silver and platinum are painted by hand in gold and silver paint with a brush; we do not use leaf.
The first photograph shows our copy in a thin gold frame on an easel in the studio, and the second and third photographs show it from the side among frame samples. The fourth photograph shows a second copy in a silver-coloured frame. In the fifth photograph the painting is placed on a dark blue wall above a daybed by a window, and in the sixth in a light grey living room beside a grey sofa, so you can see how a narrow format comes alive in a room.
Every painting is a hand-painted copy made for your order, so no two are ever quite the same, as our two copies show. A printed oil painting reproduction cannot show the relief of the brushstrokes and the shine of gold paint that you can see and feel on the canvas.
Which size for which wall?
Short answer: for a narrow wall between doors or windows choose 40 x 100 or 50 x 130 cm, for a high ceiling 60 x 160 or 70 x 190 cm, and for a small corner 30 x 80 cm. The sizes are 30 x 80, 40 x 100, 50 x 100, 50 x 130, 60 x 160, 70 x 170, 70 x 190, 80 x 210 and 90 x 240 cm.
The original is two and a half times as high as it is wide; 40 x 100 cm keeps that proportion exactly, and 30 x 80, 50 x 130, 60 x 160 and 80 x 210 cm come very close. The 50 x 100 cm size is somewhat wider than the original. It brightens a hallway, a staircase or a narrow wall beside a wardrobe. As a painting for the living room, hang it beside a sofa or a sideboard rather than above it, since it is upright.
Hang it with the centre of the canvas about 150 cm above the floor; with the very tall sizes, keep the lower edge at least 40 cm above the floor.
Custom size, stretcher and frame
If you need a different size, for example exactly the space between two windows, we paint it to measure, also in the exact proportion of 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. In the photographs above you can see a thin gold and a silver-coloured frame; both go well with the metallic shine of the painting.
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 Water Serpents I today?
Water Serpents I is in the collection of the Belvedere in Vienna under inventory number 5077. The Austrian Gallery bought it in 1956 from the Viennese Galerie L. T. Neumann. It is currently not on display, since works on parchment are sensitive to light, so you cannot always see it in person.
What does Water Serpents I mean?
Water Serpents I shows water beings, two women floating dreamily above the sea floor among golden seaweed. It tells no story; it creates a calm, mysterious mood of an underwater world. Many see in it the tenderness and closeness of two figures who give themselves up to the water and to each other.
Why is Water Serpents I also called Girlfriends?
The Belvedere lists Water Serpents I under the title Girlfriends (Water Serpents I), because it shows two women holding each other closely. The second title links it with water beings and with the later Water Serpents II. It is not the same work, however, as Klimt’s later painting Girlfriends, which is a different work with another subject.
What is the original of Water Serpents I painted on?
The original of Water Serpents I is painted on parchment, in watercolour, gouache and pencil, and decorated with gold, silver, platinum and brass. The parchment, with its skin-like surface, is part of the composition. Our painting is a hand-painted oil copy after this original, on canvas, so it is sturdier and suits any room.
How big is the original Water Serpents I?
The original Water Serpents I is small: 50 cm high and only 20 cm wide. Every one of our sizes therefore enlarges it and shows details you could only see up close on the original. If you want the exact proportion of the original, choose 40 x 100 cm or send us your own measurement.
What is the difference between Water Serpents I and Water Serpents II?
Water Serpents I is a small upright work on parchment from 1904, kept by the Belvedere. Water Serpents II is a large horizontal oil version from 1904–1907, now in a private collection. Choose the first for a narrow, tall wall and the second for a long wall above a sofa or a bed.
Is the gold on Water Serpents I real gold?
On our Water Serpents I the gold, silver and platinum are painted by hand in gold and silver paint with a brush, not laid on as metal leaf. That way the colours bond well with the oil and stay stable over the years. In the photographs above you can see how the light catches the golden seaweed and hair.
Which size of Water Serpents I should I choose?
For a narrow wall choose Water Serpents I in 40 x 100 or 50 x 130 cm, for a tall wall 60 x 160 or 70 x 190 cm. As a canvas painting it comes alive where a wide painting would have no room: between doors, beside a wardrobe or on a staircase. For a small corner, 30 x 80 cm suits well.
Is Water Serpents I a good gift?
Yes, Water Serpents I makes a lovely gift for someone who loves Klimt and gold but has little wall space. The narrow format finds a place in any home. Because we paint every painting individually, we can match the size to the recipient’s room, and you receive a photograph of the finished work before dispatch.
- Subject: two slender women, intertwined in an upright band, among golden seaweed, snake forms and sea creatures.
- Original: 1904, 50 x 20 cm, watercolour and metals on parchment, Belvedere, Vienna.
- Ours: a Klimt reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, gold in gold paint, in tall narrow sizes or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.
