What the painting shows

The Hostile Powers by Klimt is a monumental 1901–1902 wall painting that depicts the mythical monster Typhoeus alongside the Gorgon sisters. On the left, three pale, standing nudes have dark snakes coiling through their hair. Beside them sits Typhoeus, rendered as a massive, ape-like winged giant with round staring eyes and bare teeth.

To the right of the beast, three women with patterned ornaments surround a hunched, sorrowful figure. Blue and brown brushwork forms the background, while a long serpent coils horizontally across the lower right section. Thin layers of gold leaf highlight the figures, crowns, and geometric shapes across the wall.

The story behind it

Klimt painted this scene as the center wall of the Beethoven Frieze inside the Vienna Secession building. The mural belongs to Klimt’s gold period, during which he integrated gold leaf and applied materials onto plaster grounds. The frieze was created for an exhibition dedicated to Ludwig van Beethoven.

The artist drew on classical mythology and allegorical concepts for the figures. Alongside its primary title, the panel is known as Typhoeus and the Three Gorgons, as well as Typhoeus and lust, unchastity, intemperance.

Where to see it

You can see The Hostile Powers in Vienna, Austria. The work is held in the collection of the Belvedere and remains on display inside the Secession building.