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What the painting shows
Music II by Klimt is an 1898 painting created by Gustav Klimt as one of his symbolic allegories. On the left side of the composition, you see a woman with dark curly hair decorated with small blossoms. She wears a dark garment and raises her hands toward the strings of an ornate lyre decorated with swirling patterns.
A carved stone face with wide eyes and a broad mouth sits directly beneath the instrument. Behind the musician, floating circular motifs and vine leaves spread across the background. On the right side, a tall stone sphinx faces forward with a calm, sculpted expression, balancing the active figure on the left.
The story behind it
Klimt dated Music II in 1898. The piece is also recorded under the German titles Die Musik II and Musik II. It forms part of the artist’s allegorical works, where music appears through symbolic figures and ornamental motifs. You can view every surviving and lost work across his career on the paintings page.
What happened to it
The original painting of Music II was destroyed. Because the canvas no longer exists, you can only see the composition through surviving black-and-white documentary photographs. These historic images preserve the arrangement of the musician, the decorative background, and the carved sphinx.
Questions about Music II
What happened to Music II by Klimt?
Music II by Gustav Klimt was destroyed and no longer exists today. Viewers know the 1898 allegorical painting through surviving black-and-white documentation rather than the finished original canvas. These historical photographic images show the woman playing a lyre beside an ornamental stone sphinx, preserving Klimt's design after the destruction of the original artwork.
When did Klimt paint Music II?
Gustav Klimt dated Music II in 1898. The painting belongs to the artist's group of allegories and is also known by the German titles Die Musik II and Musik II. Although the original work was later destroyed, records and surviving monochrome photographs preserve Klimt's 1898 composition for modern audiences to study and appreciate.
