University of Vienna Ceiling Paintings (Medicine), detail showing Hygieia 1907

This detail of Hygieia, from Gustav Klimt’s University of Vienna Ceiling Paintings, shows a figure draped in a vivid, patterned red and yellow robe, entwined with a golden snake. The process feels so apparent here, like each stroke is a decision, a step in an elaborate dance. The texture is incredible, isn’t it? Look at how the colors vibrate against each other; the red and yellow aren’t just colors but palpable surfaces. The robe, with its vertical stripes and geometric patterns, seems almost like a screen, a veil over the body. I love how the spiral of the snake echoes the curves of her body, creating a sense of movement and energy. It’s as if Klimt is not just painting a figure but conjuring a whole world. Thinking about his other works, like *The Kiss*, I see a similar obsession with pattern and surface, a desire to turn the human form into something decorative, almost abstract. But unlike Egon Schiele, his contemporary who twisted the figure into new and fascinating shapes, Klimt’s ambition was to pattern and decorate his figures. Art isn't about fixed answers, but endless questions and possibilities, right?