Sunday November 11, 1906, 23:16 – Vienna, Austria. I have to say it: as much as I am an animal lover it was very difficult to handle the cat smell. It really was overwhelming. As fascinating as his notebooks were, it was difficult to approach them, but that’s another story.
I was invited by Klimt during his great golden period, after his secession from the Vienna group. He was working on some of his best works but was haunted by another dream. Danae. He shared his original vision for it. She was staring at the viewer, fingers at her lips. It was a striking visual and we went immediately to work.
We worked into the night to produce the piece and when completed, he was satisfied that we had recreated his vision. But after staring at it a bit he decided that it needed to show more of her body. He also wanted her to turn inward and not acknowledge the user, but rather lose herself in her own ecstasy. For now, it was a starting point that cleared his head and allowed him to move forward, which was great for me as I really needed some fresh air anyhow.
