plate no. 7474
Houses at Unterach on the Attersee
Gustav Klimt, 1916
recreation guide
Houses at Unterach on the Attersee (1916) represents Gustav Klimt’s late landscape period, distinct from his earlier 'Golden Phase' characterized by gold leaf and allegorical figures (Source 3). While Klimt is famous for Art Nouveau flatness and decoration, his later landscapes shifted toward a more naturalistic, though still stylized, depiction of the Austrian countryside. This work falls under the genre of cityscape or topographical view, depicting a specific location with buildings prominently featured (Source 5, Source 8). The painting likely employs Klimt’s mature oil technique, which, according to historical records of old masters and Klimt’s contemporaries, often involved building up color through glazing and scumbling over a monochrome underpainting to achieve luminosity and depth (Source 1).
estimated time
20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions
materials
4 items
steps
5 in sequence
materials
| item | purpose | modern equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Oil paints (Ultramarine, White, Black, Yellow Ochre, Red Ochre, Vermilion) | Primary pigments for underpainting and glazing layers | — |
| Oil of Copavia or Linseed Oil | Medium for the first and second paintings as per traditional methods | Stand oil or walnut oil for slower drying |
| Varnish | Mixed with oil for later glazing stages to increase transparency and flow | Dammar varnish |
| Canvas | Support for the oil painting | Linen or cotton canvas, primed |
preparation
surface prep
Prepare a standard oil-primed canvas. Klimt’s later works did not typically use gold leaf, so a traditional white or warm-toned ground is appropriate. The surface should be smooth to allow for the fine glazing techniques described in historical oil painting practices (Source 1).
underdrawing
Klimt’s preparatory methods for his late landscapes are not explicitly detailed in the provided sources. However, consistent with the 'old masters' technique cited, a loose underdrawing in charcoal or thinned oil is likely used to establish the composition of the houses and landscape elements before applying the monochrome layer.
underpainting
Create a grisaille (monochrome underpainting) using black, ultramarine, and white mixed with oil of copavia (Source 1). This layer establishes the values and forms of the houses and landscape without color. The goal is to mentally extract red and yellow tones, leaving only the structural values (Source 1).
color palette
Ultramarine
Pure ultramarine
Underpainting and cool shadows/glazes
White
Lead white or Titanium white
Underpainting highlights and scumbling
Black
Ivory black or Lamp black
Underpainting shadows
Yellow/Red Tones
Yellow Ochre, Vermilion, Cadmium Yellow
Glazing and scumbling layers to introduce warmth and local color
composition
The composition is a cityscape/topographical view, focusing on the houses at Unterach. While specific compositional moves for this painting are not detailed in the sources, Klimt’s general practice involved arranging elements into a coherent composition, often balancing decorative flatness with spatial depth (Source 3, Source 5). The houses likely serve as the primary structural elements, with the landscape providing context.
step by step
underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing→varnishing
underpainting
step 01
Mix black, ultramarine, and white with oil of copavia to create a grisaille. Paint the full composition of the houses and landscape, focusing on value structure rather than color.
Tip — Ensure the underpainting is completely dry before proceeding. This layer should represent what would be left in nature if red and yellow colors were absent (Source 1).
Grisaille
first pass
step 02
Apply transparent glazes of yellow and red tones over the dry grisaille. Use oil as a medium initially.
Tip — Glazing is a transparent coat of color. Apply it much like tinting an engraving with watercolors (Source 1).
Glazing
refining
step 03
Use scumbling to add semi-opaque layers, particularly for lighter tones or to create a 'grey bloom' effect over darker grounds.
Tip — Scumbling allows the underlying painting to show through. When used over a darker ground, it tends to create coldness or a grey bloom (Source 1).
Scumbling
finishing
step 04
Refine color interactions by considering simultaneous contrast. Ensure that adjacent colors enhance each other; for example, placing blue tones next to orange to make the orange appear more intense.
Tip — Colors appear modified by their neighbors. A red surrounded by green tones will seem redder (Source 4).
Simultaneous Contrast
varnishing
step 05
Once the painting is fully dry, apply a final varnish to protect the surface and unify the glazes.
Tip — Varnish can also be mixed with oil in later stages of painting to increase transparency and flow (Source 1).
Varnishing
critical techniques
Glazing and Scumbling
Klimt, like many old masters, likely used glazing (transparent color layers) and scumbling (semi-opaque layers) to build up color and luminosity over a monochrome underpainting. This method allows for rich, deep colors that are difficult to achieve with opaque mixing alone (Source 1).
Simultaneous Contrast
Understanding how adjacent colors affect each other is crucial. For instance, red beside blue verges on orange, and blue beside red verges on green. This principle helps in adjusting colors to appear more vibrant or harmonious without changing the pigment itself (Source 4).
common pitfalls
- →Applying glazes before the underpainting is completely dry, which can lead to muddiness and lifting of the lower layers (Source 1).
- →Ignoring simultaneous contrast, resulting in colors that appear dull or inaccurate because they are not adjusted for their neighboring hues (Source 4).
- →Overworking the scumbling layer, which can obscure the underlying structure rather than enhancing it with a 'grey bloom' or subtle tone (Source 1).
what the sources don't tell us
Where the corpus is silent, we say so rather than guess. These are the gaps a complete recreation guide would normally cover that our source passages don't.
- ·Specific color palette for 'Houses at Unterach on the Attersee' is not detailed in the sources; the guide relies on general Klimt practices and historical oil painting techniques.
- ·Exact compositional layout of the houses and landscape is not described in the sources, so the artist must rely on reference images of the actual painting.
- ·Klimt’s specific underdrawing methods for this late period are not explicitly documented in the provided texts.
grounded in
The technical procedure in this guide traces to the following classical art-instruction texts.
The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- COLOURING A MONOCHROME — applied to Underpainting, glazing, and scumbling techniques
Laws of Contrast of Colour↗
- 315-318 — applied to Color theory and simultaneous contrast
The Science of Painting↗
- 4. When two colours separated by more than two others — applied to Color modification and contrast principles
cross-referenced from
Named facts about this artwork and artist were checked against these reference pages.
Wikipedia bio — Gustav Klimt↗
- part 7 — applied to Context of Klimt’s style and transition from Golden Phase
Wikipedia: Landscape painting↗
- part 1 — applied to Genre context (cityscape/topographical view)
Read more about the corpus on the sources page and how the guides are built on the methods page.
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