Farmhouse in Upper Austria

The Farm House in Upper Austria by Gustav Klimt (1911) brings the viewer to be placed in the eyesight of the artists, viewing the environment through the painter's eyes.

Differentiating from Klimt's other work in his technique in illustrating buildings, the painting depicts an incredible detail oriented rendition of the farmhouse, with a new array of design showcasing a meticulous attention to article within the composition of the structure.

The style of the painting carries a similar technique to prominent artist, Vincent Van Gogh, from its linear techniques that showcase the flatness of the painting, to the brushwork within the canopy of the painting, which brings a deeper meaning to the work. Gustav Klimt had studied the artist's work, incorporating a similar minor brush stroke throughout his work.

The painting, Farm House in Upper Austria, carries the similar garden countryside theme as the artist's other works, including Farm Garden with Sunflowers (1913), Country House on Attersee (1901), Church in Unterach Attersee (1901), and Attersee (1900). This style occurred as Klimt began spending his summers in the countryside of Austria away from the city, absorbing the nature and transforming it into his paintings.

As Klimt had encountered a period of praise for his bronzed gold phase, he had ventured off into the natural phase, yet while still incorporating his beloved style of mosaic arts in the strategic structure of leaves and flowers.

Farm House in Upper Austria illustrates the detailed light blue-grey farmhouse, through an array of detail encompassing an impressionism feel. The floor of the meadow remains to be structured in the painter's traditional style, using vertical brush strokes to display the growth of the grass, alongside elongating the canvas so the viewer is not stuck with a flattened surface.

The soft pattern of small colourful flowers carries elements from Klimt's gold phase, as the mosaic style still fills the meadow. Similarly the canopy of the painting depends through dark shades of green and turquoise-blue, creating a deeper texture. Art critics state that the canopy of the trees illustrates an allegory of the trees, forcing the individual to view the leaves in a deeper darker meaning. The piece engulfs the viewer with an array of thought, wondering what the deeper meaning within the painting is.

As well, the viewer wonder's whether Klimt was present during the painting of the piece, as an exact representation of how the farmhouse met his eyes.

The bark of the tree seems to continue with the artist's classic amazement for birch trees, as the bark remains to carry a darker colour. Alight brush strokes in a mixture of white and yellow are used along the truck of the tree to highlight it in relation to the dark contours of the tree. Farm House in Upper Austria is painted in dark cool colours, bringing to life the artists transition into an impressionism style, yet steering away from modernism.