Island in Attersee
A horizon pushed to the top, an island reduced to a dark mass and almost the entire canvas delivered to the colorful vibrations of the water.
Island in Attersee transforms a real landscape into an almost abstract field: the lake occupies more than four-fifths of the square, while the island of Litzlberg hugs against the upper right edge.
Pay attention to the title: this table is not Attersee (1900), different work kept at the Leopold Museum in Vienna. Both compositions explore the same water, but not with the same framing.
A landscape that refuses the foreground
Klimt removes almost everything that normally helps us enter a landscape: no shore beneath our feet, no character, no boat in the center. The gaze floats without a point of support before meeting the island.
1234
High horizon
The far line is compressed in the upper band. The sky becomes almost residual.
Off-center island
Litzlberg almost touches the right edge: this imbalance makes the body of water larger.
Field without center
No object dominates the middle zone. The surface is distributed continuously.
Depth by color
Cold values, light bands and key densities replace the classic perspective.
Water becomes a web of touches
From a distance, the water seems calm. Up close, it is constructed by a multitude of small horizontal signs: water greens, turquoise, acidic yellows, pale pinks, blue-gray and mauves. They do not describe each wave; they produce a rhythm.
The pattern remains recognizable, but the repetition of marks constantly threatens to tip it into abstraction.
What appears decorative is therefore not added to nature: the decorative is born from the prolonged observation of reflections. Klimt paints neither a uniform mirror nor realistic water in the photographic sense. He paints an active surface.
Look for a long time, frame severely
Klimt discovered the Attersee as a vacation spot in 1900 and returned there for many summers. Island in Attersee is generally dated from his third stay in Litzlberg, in 1902. In a letter dated August 17, he mentions after the bath "a little painting, a picture of the lake in the sun".
His method combines outdoor observation and voluntary framing. The telescope and the viewfinder make it possible to select a narrow portion of the world, to bring the distance closer together and to flatten the planes. The square then becomes less of a window than an autonomous sample of nature.
Three stages of the same lake
Attersee
Even more radical: almost the entire square is turquoise water. The earth appears only as a thin dark thrust in the upper right corner. Presented at the Secession in 1901, the painting already impresses with its proximity to abstraction.
See the painted reproduction
Litzlberg on the Attersee
Later, the island becomes a compact world: villa, trees and reflections form a dense square. The lake remains a colorful screen, but the architecture recovers the image. This development shows that Klimt does not follow a simple step towards abstraction.
What remains of the place?
The Attersee is located in Salzkammergut, Upper Austria. The island of Litzlberg still exists, but it is private. The landscape seen by Klimt is therefore not an invented setting: it results from a framing which eliminates activities, nearby banks and a large part of the relief.
The Klimt Artist Trail and the activities of the Klimt Museum Attersee today make it possible to connect certain points of view to the paintings, without claiming to find exactly each easel position.
A $53.2 million landscape
On May 16, 2023 in New York, the work sold for $53.2 million at Sotheby's. The buyer is then identified as a private Japanese collector. Since 2025, the painting has been deposited at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo.
See the museum information sheetTwo Attersee available in the store
The store does not currently offer Island in Attersee under this exact title. Here are two verified works from the same geographic cycle, available in hand-painted reproduction.
Kammer Castle in Attersee III
A square composition where facade, water and trees fit together like a decorative motif.
See the work
Country house on Lake Attersee
Another way to flatten the landscape: light building, tight vegetation and close-ups.
See the workFAQs
When did Klimt paint Island in the Attersee?
The work is generally dated around 1901 -1902. The Gustav Klimt Database places it in 1902, during the artist's third summer stay in Litzlberg.
Is the painting abstract?
No, because it represents the island of Litzlberg and the lake well. But the erasure of the sky, the repetition of touches and the absence of conventional depth place it on the edge of abstraction.
Why is the format square?
The square neutralizes the usual hierarchy between width and height. It helps Klimt treat the landscape as a self-contained surface, close to a decorative panel.
What is the difference with Attersee of 1900?
Attersee from 1900 is kept at the Leopold Museum. It shows almost only water. Island in Attersee grants a clearer presence to the island and belongs to a private collection.
Where is Island in Attersee today?
The painting belongs to a private collection and has been deposited since 2025 at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo. Its official file, updated on July 14, 2026, indicates it on display; check before moving.
How much is the painting worth?
It was awarded $53.2 million at Sotheby's in May 2023. A historic auction is not an automatic estimate of its current value.
Can the island of Litzlberg be visited?
The island and its castle are private. However, you can travel the banks of the Attersee and follow stages of the Klimt Artist Trail.
Was Klimt painting directly in front of the motif?
He observed and worked at the edge of the lake, but his compositions also result from a severe selection, covers and framing tools such as the viewfinder or the telescope.
0 comments