Metaphorical Landscapes Of Fin-de-Si(?)cle

At the end of the 19 th century,as the speed of the development of science and technology growing rapidly,more and more European countries turned into capitalism.As a consequence,people started to find that science is not the final solution of the whole world and a sense of anxiety started to grow in turn of the century.Influenced by the pessimistic philosophy of Schopenhauer,Nietzsche developed a tragic vision and stared to question the rationalistic-scientific culture ever growing from the age of Enlightenment.In such a condition,a symbolic,aesthetical,decadent style called "Fin-de-Si(?)cle" started to become a trend in the realm of intellectual at the time.Landscape painting,in the meantime,was also influenced by the style.Because of empathy,we can feel the artist's feeling while they create these works by appreciating them.The theory of empathy and care gave these paintings extra charm even for now.As an artist in the turn of the century Vienna,Gustav Klimt's landscape paintings were in trend.Its unique square composition and decorative style made it even more attractive.Although Klimt was famous by his figurative paintings,he had painted over60 landscapes since 1898—approximately half of the works of this period.This dissertation will be focused on Klimt's landscape paintings,which present nature as a "Sacred Spring" By examine the formal factors of the paintings and using philosophy and psychology theories,the way we perceive the feelings while appreciating will be analyzed.