Apple tree I and II: compare the two versions of the orchard
Same fruit tree, same almost square format, but two opposing experiences. Apple tree I is clear, lurking and loaded with red apples; Apple tree II is darker, more airy and crossed by shards of sky. Here's how to stop confusing them.
Apple tree I, also called Little Apple Tree, circa 1912, oil on canvas, private collection. Image of the entire work, public domain.
Apple tree II, also called Green apple tree, 1916, oil on canvas, private collection. Image of the entire work, public domain.
The first is a carpet of flowers; the second, a crown in the air.
In Apple tree I', the eye remains in contact with a continuous green surface where flowers, leaves and fruits have almost the same importance. In Apple tree II, the trunk bears a monumental dark mass: the blue sky appears around and through the foliage, making the tree larger.
The easiest way to recognize them
Red apples and almost no sky? You're probably looking Apple tree I.
Yellow-green fruits surrounded by dark, a large crown and visible blue sky? It's about Apple tree II.
Numbers therefore do not designate two states of the same canvas. These are two autonomous paintings, painted several years apart, in distinct contexts.
The direct comparison
French titles vary depending on the catalog: Apple tree I can be called Little Apple Tree, while Apple tree II also appears under the name of Green apple tree. The dates, dimensions and especially the image allow them to be identified.
| Marker | Apple tree I | Apple tree II |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Around 1912 | 1916 |
| Other title | Little Apple Tree | Green apple tree |
| Dimensions | Approximately 109 × 110 cm | 80 × 80 cm |
| Fruit | Red apples, small but very visible | Yellow-green fruits, often surrounded by dark |
| Sky | Almost absent: vegetation lines the surface | Present at the edges and in the openings of the crown |
| Trunk | Fine, clear, absorbed by the garden | Central, dark, wearing a massive crown |
| Effect | Ornamental, luminous, abundant | Atmospheric, monumental, more serious |
| Collection | Private collection | Private collection; cited in exhibition histories with the Louis Vuitton Foundation |
Look at the two trees, not just their apples
Klimt does not treat the orchard as a botanical survey. It transforms a familiar pattern into a painting problem: how to fit real depth into a square almost entirely covered with touches?
Detail · Apple tree I
A surface without rest
Flowers of the ground, leaves and apples respond to each other like the tesserae of a mosaic. The depth exists, but it is compressed by the repetition of small touches.
- Red: the fruits punctuate the green with clarity.
- Sol: a flower carpet rises almost to the foliage.
- Outline: tree mixes with garden instead of breaking away from it.
Detail · Apple tree II
A mass that breathes
Crown widens like architecture. Blue intervals prevent foliage from becoming a simple pattern and circulate air through the canvas.
- Yellow green: the fruits are less vibrant and more integrated.
- Black: dark accents reinforce the contours and trunk.
- Sky: the blue holes give a new depth.
The format
Both canvases are almost square, but Apple tree I approaches 110 cm while Apple tree II measures 80 cm on each side.
Density
In 1912, every interval was filled. In 1916, breaths of sky organized the mass of foliage.
The color
The green-red couple animates the first. The second prefers muffled greens, black, ocher and a cool blue.
The touch
Apple tree I accumulates small marks. Apple tree II retains this vibration but opens it with freer gestures.
The depth
The first appears almost textile. In the second, the trunk, the crown and the bottom form three more readable planes.
The climate
The luminous abundance of 1912 gave way, during the war, to a more restrained and meditative image.
Two pallets, two temperatures of the orchard
Apple tree I: the spring surge
The red of the fruits contrasts with fresh greens and bright yellows. The flowery soil introduces cream tones that prevent the painting from becoming uniformly green.
Apple tree II: the darkened tree
The greens become deep, the fruits approach ocher and almost black touches articulate the crown. The blue of the sky acts as a cold counterpoint.
Four years that change the breathing of the landscape
Apple tree I belongs to the colored phase of the early 1910s. The painting was presented to the public in Dresden in 1912 and pushed the idea of nature becoming a decorative surface very far.
Apple tree II was painted in 1916, during the last of the three summers that Klimt spent on the south bank of the Attersee, near Weissenbach and Steinbach. The Gustav Klimt scientific base highlights its more open atmosphere and a dynamic touch that reveals the painter's interest in Van Gogh.
Two tables, two very different restitution files
Related titles have maintained confusion even in recent history. To talk about provenance, we must start from the visual, the dimensions, the owners and the catalog numbers - never from the single word "Apple tree".
Apple tree I: the Altmann file
The work belonged to Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. In 2006, an Austrian arbitral tribunal ordered its restitution to the heirs, along with four other Klimts claimed by Maria Altmann.
To remember: this file is that of Apple tree I, distinct from the misidentification regarding Apple tree II.
Apple tree II: an erroneous restitution
In 2001, Austria returned Apple tree II to the heirs of Nora Stiasny. Research then concludes that the work looted from Stiasny was in reality Rose bushes under the trees, now returned by France in 2022.
To remember: the error does not make the two tables interchangeable; on the contrary, it shows why material identification must be rigorous.
No permanent room to program
Unlike the Kiss from Belvedere, these two apple trees do not constitute permanent meetings in a public museum. Their visibility depends on loans and temporary exhibitions.
Before traveling for an exhibition
1. Check the exact list of works on the institution's website.
2. Compare the date and dimensions: around 1912 /approx. 109 × 110 cm for I; 1916 /80 × 80 cm for II.
3. Don't just rely on the title translation: Apple Tree, Apfelbaum, Little Apple Tree and Green apple tree are not used uniformly.
Also compare the two compositions in the store
The two sheets below refer to the corresponding reproductions. The links and visuals were checked on the store before publication.
The Apple Tree - Gustav Klimt
The light version with red apples: a dense plant square where the garden, flowers and tree merge.
See the reproduction of Pommier I
Apple tree II - Gustav Klimt
The dark version with a monumental peak: yellow-green fruits, a central trunk and gaps of blue sky.
See the reproduction of Pommier IIFrequently asked questions
Are Apple Tree I and Apple Tree II the same picture?
No. These are two stand-alone oils on canvas, painted around 1912 and in 1916, with different dimensions and compositions.
What table does the red apples show?
Apple tree I. Its small red fruits stand out against much lighter vegetation.
What picture does the blue sky show?
Apple tree II. The sky appears around the crown and in several gaps in the foliage.
Why is Apple Tree I sometimes called Little Apple Tree?
This is a title variation used in catalogs. "Small" does not necessarily describe the canvas: it measures almost 110 cm on each side.
Which is bigger?
Apple tree I, approximately 109 × 110 cm. Apple tree II measures 80 × 80 cm.
Where did Klimt paint Apple Tree II?
The work belongs to its late period linked to stays on the south bank of the Attersee, during the war years.
Can we see both paintings in a museum?
Not permanently. Both works are in private collections and occasionally appear in exhibitions.
Why are we talking about Van Gogh about Pommier II?
The Gustav Klimt scientific base brings its open and dynamic touch closer to Klimt's interest in Van Gogh, without reducing the painting to an imitation.
Sources and benchmarks
- Gustav Klimt Database - The Final Years : stays at the Attersee, analysis of Apple tree II and interest in Van Gogh.
- Gustav Klimt Database - Expressive Farbenpracht : Apple tree I, dating and exhibition of Dresden in 1912.
- ArThemis, University of Geneva - Maria Altmann and Austria : arbitration and restitution of five Klimts, including Apple tree I.
- Musée d'Orsay - restitutions of works MNR : confusion between Apple tree II and Rose bushes under the trees.
- Wikimedia Commons - Apple Tree I and Wikimedia Commons - Apple Tree II : public domain images, copied to the Shopify CDN.
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