The Big Poplar II

The Big Poplar II

The Big Poplar II reveals gloomy shades and a dark sub context behind the piece that leaves viewers bedazzled and startled. The painting showcases a pastoral art piece from 1903 that incorporates super natural elements and mysterious questions.

The artist behind the masterpiece, Gustav Klimt, transitioned his Victorian Era style to impressionism landscapes that paid tribute to the natural scenery of the time. The uprising style that was taking storm, were mysterious artworks that carried puzzling questions behind them. Klimt steered towards the perplex topic within his painting, The Big Poplar II, to showcase a big question. The painting is paired with Tall Poplar Tree II, which is a different angled version of The Big Poplar II.

Both art pieces illustrate a big poplar tree as it grows from the ground, however it is accompanied by a perfect row of apple trees. The puzzling question behind the painting is why the large tree is located near the precise row of apple trees that are planted. Many art critics believe that the poplar tree wasn't located within the scene, yet was added based ok Klimt's imagination. The troubling question has been left turning in the mind of many for over centuries, analyzing the bigger meaning behind the tree.

The poplar tree and apple trees are both painted in the same tone, using a colour scheme of red and dark brown to depict the leaves of the tree. Klimt had used a sponge technique that uses small dots against the canvas to achieve the imitation of leaves. The brush hits the canvas in a light stroke through a cluster of directions to add to the painting. Many of Klimt's impressionist based paintings had incorporated the technique to add a different texture to the artist's work.

The field beneath the tree transcends into the horizon of the sky, blending with the green trees in the background. While using a similar technique, the artist had blended the colour in more together to achieve the desires texture. An unknown crop along the field, showcasing a red tinted color throughout the piece. Two trees grow near the background of the painting in a tall form, a symbol of the setting.

While the trees add a cold gloomy feel to the work, the sky adds a glimpse of colour. The beautiful amalgam of colours showcased through the sky is a masterful blend bringing live to the painting. The deep sky is covered in shades of teal green, grey and cream, intertwined together adding the deep illusion of clouds. The sky elongates the canvas as it sets into the horizon of the artwork. The artist broadens the colours near the top of the canvas, while blending them more finely together along the bottom. This technique adds depth into the piece, allowing for the landscape to seem longer than it actually is.

The final essential element showcased throughout the painting that adds to the mysterious allure to the painting is the deformed house located under the poplar tree. This house is incredibly blended out, not showcasing any glimpse of details. The weird form that it is in makes the house seem as if it had just appeared within the painting. The house seems as if it is cut in half, floating upon the dark field. The abnormally large poplar tree in the background adds to the confusion of the piece, leaving puzzling questions throughout.

Gustav Klimt is a prominent artist through an array of styles in impressionable, art nouveau, realism and his famous gold phase. His impeccable skill transforms canvases in colour and emotion. While Big Polar II holds a gloomy feel and an array of questions, the mysterious painting depicts a unraveling landscape across the canvas.