Gustav Klimt - The Virgin Envelope

The Virgin / The Maiden (Die Jungfrau), painted in 1913 in oil on canvas by Austrian Symbolist Gustav Klimt. A sleeping or dreaming central woman is surrounded by intertwined female figures and brightly patterned textiles arranged in a large circular mass. The figures seem to float rather than occupy a conventional room, transforming the scene into an allegory of dream, awakening and transition. Klimt's late style replaces much of the gold of his earlier period with intense blues, reds and geometric pattern. The monumental work belongs to the group of large allegories in which he returned to themes of life, love and transience shortly before the First World War.