Church in Unterach on the Attersee

This painting, judging by the unique view on the popular holiday town Unterach, was possibly painted by Klimt from the deck of a row- or sailboat. The central element of the artwork is the local parish church St. Bartholomew. It is possible that Klimt, who was known to enjoy sailing on Lake Attersee, just made a preliminary sketch on the boat that was bound to be rocked by the swell of the lake and finished the actual painting later in his studio. However, a photo that shows Klimt on a terrace, with an easel at the ready, studying the far side of the lake through a telescope, indicates that the intricate painting might also have been created purely on land.

In this view of Unterach, the lower half of the picture is dominated by a small forest of densely growing trailing plants that almost seems to be pressing the neighbouring boathouses and residential buildings to the right border of the painting. Behind the seafront buildings, another bunch of houses stand tightly pressed together. Above all, the mighty and immovable nave rises with its gothic pointed-arch windows. Two of the windows are visible while the third is hidden behind a big tree. The church is overshadowed by the baroque bell tower with its red onion dome that is, however, cut off at the upper border of the painting.

With his painting, Klimt has set a visual monument for the small town of Unterach, an honour that the town returned by dedicating a statue on the town square to Klimt and placing twenty-four small platforms with mounted telescopes around the lake that enable today’s art-enthusiast to see Unterach from the same locations that Klimt once used for his paintings.