Klimt's 'Three Ages of Woman' on View at Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria

The Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria in Perugia is hosting Gustav Klimt's masterpiece 'Le tre età' (The Three Ages of Woman) for summer 2024, on loan from the Galleria di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Roma. The exhibition, curated by director Costantino D'Orazio, inaugurates a new series of shows at the museum. The painting, from Klimt's Golden Period, depicts infancy, motherhood, and old age. An introductory section reconstructs the Belle Époque context, featuring Art Nouveau posters from the 1910 Venice Biennale and the 1911 Rome International Exhibition. The show also highlights Florentine ceramist Galileo Chini, with his floral-decorated vases influenced by Pre-Raphaelites and Art Nouveau, enriched by his travels to Thailand. Preparatory sketches by Klimt in ink and charcoal are displayed, showing his essential lines and sensual forms. The painting 'Le tre età' was created after a personal crisis following the deaths of Klimt's father and brother Ernst in 1892; his partner Émile Flöge helped him recover. During this period, Klimt's style shifted to more sensual, unsettling female figures, increased use of gold, and abstract symbolic backgrounds. The work features a young girl, a mother, and an elderly woman, symbolizing the cycle of life, with contrasts of light and shadow, gold and black.