Visual & Decorative Arts Blog

The Kiss is one of Gustav Klimt's most iconic works. Representative of many emotions and themes, Klimt broke the mould with this work by portraying the woman as someone who is submissive in her erotic love, yet still essentially feminine. The Kiss stands at the peak of Klimt's Golden Phase, melding together his passion for the colour and all that it represents. Spiritual, elegant and conveying the deepest sense of love, Gustav Klimt's masterpiece is a fascinating work of art full of influence and allegory. 

A University of Kentucky scholar is returning to England on a mission to study one of the greatest masterpieces of art, or, more precisely, of religious art and literature: the St Chad Gospels, an eighth-century illuminated manuscript housed in Lichfield Cathedral. William Endres has studied the manuscript before, but this time around he hopes new imaging could explain the mystery of its design. His goal is to make the illuminated manuscript digitally available to all scholars across the globe. It’s not likely that this manuscript could ever be lost, after surviving centuries through invasions and revolutions, but Endres is just another in a long line looking to preserve literature for the foreseeable future. 

After the recent drama concerning a fire at the famous Mackintosh designed Glasgow School of Art we thought it would be a good time to look back at what has made the Scottish artist so iconic. Known as an architect, artist and designer, the Scotsman is often associated with the Art Nouveau movement. 

In the centenary year of the superbly talented Tove Jansson, we celebrate her glorious artwork and look in detail at what the Moomins were and what they meant. With art taken from our calendar series, The Art of Fine Gifts, keep reading to learn more about Jansson and what the Moomins meant to her.