Silk Pocket Square – Water Serpents I – Rampley & Co

Gustav Klimt, 1862-1918, Water Serpents I, 1904-07 100% Silk Hand Rolled Designed and Printed in Britain 42cm x 42cm Water Serpents I, the first of two paintings by this name, does not differ much from the preliminary drawings Klimt used for reference, apart from the beautiful addition of the gold paint, and the green and gold-leaf thread entangled around the women's bodies. The unambiguous embrace of the models would likely have been unacceptable had it been presented as a straight portrait. However, by renaming the work and giving it an allegorical theme and by adding the fish-like serpent behind the bodies and adorning every surface with gold and pattern, Klimt was able to show the painting to Vienna without fear of censorship.