Sunday 30 September 2012

Klimt visits Schiele
A Sunday Walk in a Viennese Neighborhood

Local Train Crossing
I just wonder,
was there a railway crossing
back then, in Klimt's time -
only steps from the rather bucolic setting of his studio,
where he planted roses and looked out at an orchard?

Railway crossing open again,
and I walk under golden leaves
illuminated by the morning sun
and a 1905 façade on the still shady side of the boulevard -
would Klimt have stashed away all that gold
in one of his paintboxes?

Those shiny leaves
are irresistible, aren't they?

Egon Schiele's studio
was located in this building -
the top floor, at least in my imagination

The glass in the fanlight reflects the building
where Schiele lived when he died, in 1918,
and, along the upper bevelled edge,
a slice of today's blue sky

Photographed this morning
while walking from Feldmühlgasse
towards Hietzinger Hauptstrasse 101
Images and Text © by Merisi

Links:
-> Gustav Klimt's Neighborhood
-> Happy Birthday, Gustav Klimt!
-> Gustav Klimt's Vienna and Lake Attersee

18 comments:

  1. You capture the feel of history so well with your posts and photos.

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    1. Thank you, Charles, coming from you, I am moved!

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  2. Merisi, this is a gem!

    I would also wonder about the train crossing, and completely agree with your inspired thought about Klimt saving the golden leaves' brilliance for his paintings.

    The photograph of the fan light is sublime.

    xo

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    1. Frances,
      one of my first "encounters" with Klimt here in Vienna happened at the tram stop next to the train crossing. A poster affixed to the side of the tram shelter, depicting a famous painting, "Adele" by Klimt, with the words "Good-bye, Adele!" - it moved me, back then, and still today.

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  3. Thanks for visiting my blog.
    Vienna was on the top of my list to visit, while we were living in France, but sadly we didn't get over there. Doesn't mean I still can't go though:) I really miss Europe, especially in the fall months. Your photos make it even more of an appeal for me to want to visit. When I studied art history while in University, only of my favorite painters was Klimt.

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    1. You are welcome, Elizabeth!
      I hope you can come and visit Vienna soon, and see works of Klimt and the city he lived in!

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  4. Beautiful fall captures for the day, Merisi, and I have so enjoyed this series. I've greatly enjoyed learning more about Klimt! Love the golden leaves, too!! Have a great week!

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    1. Thank you, Sylvia,
      and a wonderful fall week to you, too,
      Merisi

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  5. golden time of year and Vienna's culture also! Thanks for visiting my skywatch in Utah.

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    1. You are welcome, Lin!
      Utah must be spectacular this time of the year, all decked out in brilliant fall colors!

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  6. Great text and excellent images!

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  7. Lovely photos

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  8. Merisi, thank you for that reply. What a moment that must have been.

    I think you might remember that I have visited Vienna. It was long ago, and I loved all that I saw. I saw it without any local language skill, without a map, and just let myself wander and search for Vermeer and other artists whose works I would not have previously know. It was a bit of a test for my Eurailpass enabled journey.

    However, it is through your beautiful posts that I have been able to absorb what I experienced, learned more, and developed a wish to visit Vienna again. Somehow, for me, this give a double meaning to Vienna for Beginners!

    Thank you.
    xo

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    1. Frances, thank you for sharing this bit of your travel history with me. So good to know that at least one other person enjoys my random meanderings through the city that is now my home!
      I often wander around Klimt's neighborhood, i.e. the district where his last studio was located, the 13th, and sometimes, when I take my bike, I land on the other side of the Wienfluß, the Vienna River, where he was born, in the 14th District.
      A wonderful week to you,
      Merisi
      Did you read the article about Gramercy Park in the weekend edition of the New York Times? I could not help but laugh out loud at one reader's letter to the editor, about the dogs circling the park and leaving their smelly messages just outside the cast iron fence. ;-)

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  9. Beautiful images from an artist's eye. So inspirational to walk in an artist's footsteps. Lovely post, Merisi. xx

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  10. Merisi, thank you for your thank you.

    Yes, I also laughed as I read that Gramercy Park article. That's quite a neighborhood and I am sure that there are many more tales to be told.

    xo

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  11. Nothing can hold a candle to God's Fall color palette, and you captured it beautifully, Merisi. Can't wait to see more as Fall unfolds its glory ...

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