Minerva or Pallas Athena, 1898

Around the turn of the century, many leading cultural figures in German speaking countries showed renewed and intense interest in ancient Greek culture and mythology, from Freud and Hofmannsthal through to the composer Richard Strauss and the painters Franz von Stuck and Gustav Klimt. They were looking for profound and universal meanings in an ancient culture in which the entire Western tradition had its origins. One of the first examples of Klimt’s fully developed “Secession” style, Pallas Athena was shown at the second exhibition of the Vienna Secession in 1898. It brings Klimt close to his Bavarian contemporary Franz von Stuck who was the dominant figure of the Munich Secession that preceded that of Vienna by four years. Stuck also depicted Athena amongst many other Greek subjects. With many stylistic elements in common as well as careers that paralleled one another in their respective cities, Klimt and Stuck were inevitably compared. Hofmannsthal was convinced that Stuck’s was the more profound and genuine talent and that Klimt was merely meretricious and modish. He would no doubt have been surprised to see how time has reversed this judgement.

The sculptured frame which is integral to the picture was designed by Klimt and made by his brother Georg.