DESCRIPTION OF THE THREE FACULTY PAINTINGS BY GUSTAV KLIMT
These three paintings were originally created for the ceiling of the University of Vienna but triggered outrage due to their unconventional and visionary representations of academic fields, which questioned the faculty’s values.
After being transferred to the Immendorf castle during the Second World War, the works were tragically destroyed by a fire caused by retreating German troops. Only a photograph in colour of Medicine survived the blaze.
PHILOSOPHY
The painting Philosophy (1899–1907) recalls a cosmic vortex, a visual hymn to the search for truth. On the left, a vertical column of human figures emerges from the darkness, evoking the continuous flow of existence and the mysteries of the universe. In the centre is a mysterious female figure, a symbol of knowledge, observing with detachment, while the souls adrift in space represent humanity’s struggle to understand the meaning of life. The composition is almost abstract and blurs the boundaries between body and cosmos, emphasising the interconnection between the microcosm and the macrocosm.
Caption:
“The infinite is reflected in the human: a journey from flesh to knowledge, floating between light and shadow.”
MEDICINE
Medicine (1899–1907) depicts the human body as a fragile container of life and pain. A stream of nude figures, symbolising life from birth to death, flows in a dream-like space. The bottom is dominated by Hygeia, goddess of health, with the serpent representing healing coiled around her. The rest of the scene is permeated with a sense of doom: Death is embodied by ghostly figures, silent vigils. The painting contrasts science and spirituality with the transience of the human condition.
Caption:
“Life and death are interwoven with the mysteries of medical healing and human fragility.”
JURISPRUDENCE
In Jurisprudence (1899–1907), Klimt represents the law not as a source of order but as a ruthless and inescapable force. At the centre, a naked and tormented man is ensnared by the tentacles of a monstrous creature, a metaphor for guilt and injustice. The man is also surrounded by female figures including the personification of Justice at the top of the painting, depicted holding a large sword and appearing distant, devoid of empathy. The work questions the moral ambiguity and cruelty of the law when it is divorced from humane and compassionate treatment.
Caption:
“Equity is dissolved by terror, while the law is blind and distant from the human.”