Great artists throughout history have expressed the human experience in a universal language of form and beauty. The Montblanc Masters of Art Collection honors their eternal contribution to the quest for perfection in art – a quest Montblanc both celebrates and participates in.
One artist whose vision helped shape Viennese Art Nouveau and the Golden Age is Gustav Klimt. The Montblanc Masters of Art Homage to Gustav Klimt Limited Edition 4810 celebrates his artistic beginnings in the Vienna Secession and highlights elements from his masterpieces Pallas Athene and The Kiss in its design.
In his rebellion against stereotypical concepts in art and society, Gustav Klimt was a pioneer of the avant-garde. He fused realistic representation, ornamentation and abstraction in a style that reached its culmination in his large scale, subtly sensual paintings of women. One of his first paintings to place equal value on the ornament and the sitter was a portrait from 1902 of his partner and muse Emilie Flöge, depicted in a dreamy, almost mystical blue. This artwork provided the blue tone used in the Montblanc Masters of Art Homage to Gustav Klimt Limited Edition 4810. The circles, swirls, triangles and lines shimmering through the translucent, dark-blue lacquer of the writing instrument come from his famous painting The Kiss, in which two lovers seem to dissolve into ornamental, geometric forms through the power of emotion.
Composed of translucent blue lacquer and yellow gold-coated hammered metal, the cap and barrel of the writing instrument make effective use of complementary colors in reference to the famous works of Gustav Klimt's Golden Phase, including Adele Bloch-Bauer I, the Stoclet Frieze and The Kiss. Klimt used a new technique to enrich his colors with individual sections of gold leaf, creating the impression of precious stones set in gold. In the Limited Edition 4810, the yellow gold-coated hammered cone is set with a synthetic green spinel, the color evoking spring, the season of new beginnings. Klimt's Secession monogram, a gold-colored tampon print of his initials, GK, is a tribute to his achievements for the Vienna Secession.
The clip of the Homage to Gustav Klimt Limited Edition 4810 is specially designed with reference to Gustav Klimt’s Pallas Athene. Since Athena is the goddess of both war and the arts, she is depicted launching the struggle for artistic freedom. The slightly curved lines ending in three spirals on the yellow gold-coated clip correspond to the decoration on the forged metal frame.
The handcrafted solid Au 750 yellow gold nib is finely engraved with an owl, which symbolized knowledge, wisdom and insight and was considered the faithful animal companion of the Greek goddess Athena. The engraving is both a reference to Gustav Klimt's painting of Pallas Athena and to the Secession building, whose facades are decorated with owl sculptures.
