Artwork Gustav Klimt The Kiss 1907-1908 Dimensions 1.25" x 2" 3.5 cm x 5.5 cm About The Kiss The Kiss is one of the world's most recognized artworks. Painted between 1907 and 1908, it depicts a couple melting into a passionate embrace, their bodies entwined in beautifully elaborate robes. The Kiss is the final painting of Klimt's Golden Period. The painting wasn’t even finished before it was purchased by the Austrian government. It is considered a national treasure. Influenced by Japanese mosaics, the painting showcases the artist's signature gold leaf technique inspired by Byzantine mosaics in the Church of San Vitale in Italy. No one knows the identity of the man in The Kiss: he may be Gustav Klimt himself, however it is only conjecture.