Gustav Klimt 
The Kiss NFT

Gustav Klimt's The Kiss – an icon of romantic love and the centerpiece of the Belvedere's collection – was unveiled as a unique NFT project just in time for Valentine's Day 2022. A high-resolution digital copy of the most famous depiction of a pair of lovers has been divided into a 100 x 100 grid, resulting in 10,000 inimitable individual pieces that are currently offered as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs for short. The NFT may be dedicated to a loved one on the official site – a most romantic digital declaration of love! In a statement at the launch, Belvedere General Director Stella Rollig and CFO Wolfgang Bergmann indicated that the Belvedere considers its “first step into the Metaverse to be a tremendous achievement.” "The Belvedere is, of course, aspiring to be one the most prestigious cultural institutions in the digital world, and thereby reach new audiences," explains Stella Rollig. "The widespread interest shown by the media, multipliers, and collectors around the world confirms our decision to focus on NFTs at the right time and with the right project," said Wolfgang Bergmann.

​

The couple in The Kiss appear intimately entangled, oblivious to their surroundings and lost in their embrace. With this work at the height of his “Golden Period,” Austrian painter Gustav Klimt created a universal allegorical statement about love as a central theme of human existence. The Austrian State bought the work when it was first presented, in 1908, for the recently founded Modern Gallery in the Lower Belvedere. Since then, the painting has remained in the museum’s holdings. Today, The Kiss is considered an icon of Viennese Art Nouveau and European Modernism. It is one of the most famous works of art in the world.