Life is a struggle

A year after Klimt had finished his famous Beethoven frieze, in which the Golden Knight has a central position, again, he painted a knight figure as a symbol for the toilsome quest for absolute freedom to live and think, and thus to express oneself. Because only art can lead us to our ideal domain, the artist is heading the battle. For this Klimt was inspired by Richard Wagner’s vision on the first part of Beethoven’s ninth symphony – “A great battle taken up by the soul, which is struggling for joy with the pressure of the hostile force which stands between us and the earth’s happiness.”- and it appears to be the basic thought behind this first part.