The LEGO Group has announced a partnership with the Belvedere Museum in Vienna to release a 4,000-piece Lego set of Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss (1907–08).
The set, the largest painting-inspired one that the company has ever produced, will be available for purchase beginning August 1. It has a retail price of $299.99.
Unlike the original painting, the Lego version of The Kiss is technically three-dimensional, as building enthusiasts (ages 18+, per the box) are meant to stack various sections of the painting atop one another, giving the finished product more depth than Klimt’s original painting. While most LEGO sets traditionally feature paper instructions on how to build the final piece, this one will also have interactive 3D instructions that will be available via the LEGO Builder app.
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According to a release, Stephanie Auer, the Beleveder’s curator of 19th- and 20th-century art, worked closely with Milan Madge, LEGO’s master model designer, to ensure that “the set faithfully recreates Klimt’s signature style using layered textures and intricate details” and that it “captures the emotion, ornamentation and luminous colour palette that defined the Austrian modernist painter’s work and the Vienna Secession movement.”
“Reimagined through LEGO bricks,” the release adds, “the artwork becomes an immersive creative experience that blends art, design and mindful building.” Auer and Madge will discuss their collaboration in a LEGO podcast episode, which releases on August 1.
“Working as a curator for the adaptation of Klimt’s The Kiss into a LEGO Art set was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Auer said in a statement. “Together with Milan Madge, we had extensive discussions about Gustav Klimt’s symbolism, ornamentation, and artistic techniques, as well as how these could be represented using LEGO bricks. Distinctive features such as the flatness and composition…
