What the painting shows

This Kiss to the Whole World by Klimt presents a wide horizontal scene divided into distinct groupings across a light background. On the far left, slender female figures drift horizontally through the air inside curving bands of gold. Below them sits a solitary woman with long dark hair, framed against a bright golden shape that rises from the lower edge.

In the center, a choir of women stands in rows. They wear long pink robes decorated with undulating vertical lines and gold circle motifs. Below their bare feet lies a field of small blue, white, and green blossoms. The singers look forward with tilted heads and serene expressions, and one figure on the left holds a round instrument.

On the right, an embracing couple stands enclosed within a tall golden dome. The male figure is seen from behind, wrapping his arms around a woman whose head rests against his shoulder. Flowing hair and stylized blue streams curl over their heads beneath two small round faces. This section uses heavy applications of gold leaf and geometric patterns that point directly toward Klimt’s gold period.

The story behind it

Gustav Klimt painted This Kiss to the Whole World in 1901–1902 as the right wall of the Beethoven Frieze. The work also carries titles such as Ode to Joy and The Arts, Paradise Choir and Embrace. Klimt constructed the monumental mural directly on plaster using casein paint, gold leaf, and applied materials.

The mural drew inspiration from the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. On April 14, 1902, composer Gustav Mahler conducted his own wind arrangement of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy choir inside the Vienna Secession Building on the eve of the exhibition’s opening.

Where to see it

The mural remains in Vienna. While This Kiss to the Whole World is part of the collection of the Belvedere, it is permanently displayed inside the Secession Building as part of the complete Beethoven Frieze installation.