Freudian Psychoanalysis as an Interpretive Framework for Modern Art: Life, Death, and Dreams in the Works of Gustav Klimt and Frida Kahlo
Artistic journal indexed in Web of Science
scientific journal, artistic journal
1932
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27/04/2026 By Ingrid Baniatová, Jozef Palitefka

Freudian Psychoanalysis as an Interpretive Framework for Modern Art: Life, Death, and Dreams in the Works of Gustav Klimt and Frida Kahlo

Abstract

This study presents an analysis of the visual treatment of the motifs of dreams, life and death in the works of art Tod und Leben (1910–1915) by Gustav Klimt and El Sueño (La Cama) (1940) by Frida Kahlo through the prism of Freudian psychoanalysis. The interpretation is based on the ideas of S. Freud, specifically the life instinct (Eros), the death instinct and dreams representing a systemic space for the expression of unconscious psychological processes. The text draws attention to the different artistic approaches of the authors and to their unique reflection on the existential issue of the finiteness of human life. G. Klimt’s work is interpreted as a symbolic visualisation of the collective dream of modernity, in which death is perceived as a suppressed but at the same time determining criterion of psychic life. On the other hand, F. Kahlo conceives of dreams as a fundamentally personal and unique space of physical vulnerability, pain and direct confrontation with death. The aim of this paper is to analyse and compare different ways of artistically processing existential anxiety and the finitude of human life, viewing selected works of art as visual reflections on life, death and dreams. From a methodological point of view, the paper is based on a comparative analysis of visual and iconographic elements that are closely linked to the interpretative framework of S. Freud’s psychoanalysis, as well as the cultural-historical context of artistic modernism.

 

Key Words

Death Drive. Dream. Eros. Frida Kahlo. Gustav Klimt. Modern Art. Sigmund Freud.

 

 

 

Baniatová, I. & Palitefka, J. (2026). Freudian Psychoanalysis as an Interpretive Framework for Modern Art: Life, Death, and Dreams in the Works of Gustav Klimt and Frida Kahlo. European Journal of Media, Art & Photography, 14(1), 82-91. https://doi.org/10.34135/ejmap-26-01-04

Freudian Psychoanalysis as an Interpretive Framework for Modern Art: Life, Death, and Dreams in the Works of Gustav Klimt and Frida Kahlo © 2026 by Ingrid Baniatová, Jozef Palitefka is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

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