The Virgin by Klimt: A Tangle of Sleepers in Colour

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A tangle of sleeping young women

Seen from above, a young woman sleeps under a blanket of flowers and spirals. Around her, other young women lie in twisting poses, some asleep, some half awake. Their bodies and blankets merge into one swirling mass against a dark background.

Klimt painted The Virgin in 1913. The National Gallery Prague bought it the following year from an exhibition in Prague.

The sleeper at the centre

Sleeping young woman with dark hair crowned with flowers — The sleeper at the centre.

The central figure lies with her head tilted back, eyes closed, lips red. Her dark hair is crowned with small flowers. She seems absorbed in a dream.

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Other women, other states

Overlapping faces of women sleeping and waking — Between sleep and waking.

Above her, more faces overlap: some sleeping, some stretching, one looking out with a calm smile. The gallery describes them as bodies in various phases of sleeping and waking. They are often read as stages of a young woman’s awakening to adulthood.

A blanket of spirals and flowers

Violet, blue and black spirals with small flowers — A blanket of spirals and flowers.

The blanket is a riot of violet, blue, black and orange spirals, circles and small flowers. In Klimt’s late years, the flat gold of his earlier work gave way to these brighter floral colours.

Signature GUSTAV KLIMT in red letters — Klimt’s signature.

Klimt signed his name in red block letters at the lower right corner, against the dark background.

Questions about The Virgin

When was it painted?

In 1913.

Where is the original?

National Gallery Prague, bought in 1914.

What does it show?

A sleeping young woman surrounded by other women in different states of sleep and waking.

How large is it?

About 190 × 200 centimetres, oil on canvas.

Sources and image credit

Public-domain reproduction of The Virgin (1913), via Wikimedia Commons. Detail images are crops of the same historical painting; no reconstruction or upscaling.