Visualising the Zodiac: Virgo
Each month, art historian and writer Melissa Baksh pairs a zodiac sign with a work of art that embodies its essence through its artistic style and tone.
This month belongs to Virgo, the sixth sign of the Zodiac. Virgo is an Earth sign traditionally ruled by Mercury, the planet associated with the mind, communication and reason. Those born under Virgo are therefore often analytical, perceptive and possess a keen eye for detail. An artwork that beautifully embodies these qualities is Gustav Klimt’s The Maiden, 1913, one of the final works the Austrian artist completed before his death. The painting is held by the National Gallery in Prague, Czech Republic.
The title itself offers up an overt connection. Virgo is represented by the Maiden or Virgin and is depicted as a woman carrying a sheaf of wheat, represented by its star Spica. With its season falling in late summer, it is connected with the early-autumn harvest period in the Northern Hemisphere, as well as notions of gathering, fertility and rebirth.
There are also striking visual connections. Within the work, seven figures are intertwined within an oval, island-like composition, their bodies merging into a dreamlike arrangement of flowers, spirals and geometric forms. At its centre is a woman adorned in a blue-and-purple gown, surrounded by six female figures. Together, they suggest different stages and dimensions of womanhood, as well as the cyclical nature of life. The central figure is not presented as complete; she is unravelling and becoming. The surrounding figures appear as different versions of her Self, and different stages of existence, emerging from within her. In this way, the painting feels profoundly Virgo. Virgos place great emphasis on self-refinement; they embody a continual process of assessing habits and polishing through small and repeated actions. The Maiden similarly presents womanhood not as a fixed state, but as an ongoing process of development.
At first glance, The Maiden appears almost overwhelmingly decorative. Klimt fills the surface with a multitude of shapes and patterns pronounced in layers of rich colours, evoking ideas around fertility, transformation and evolution. Yet despite the abundance, it feels incredibly measured. Everything is contained within its elaborate structure, with the chaos carefully organised into one harmonious whole. This is reminiscent of the Virgo mind: analytical, constantly categorising and making connections between seemingly disparate details. The figures, patterns and symbols appear to merge into one another, much like the contents of an inner world. It feels like a mind processing thoughts, memories, emotions and experiences in an attempt to make sense of them all. This tension - of chaos contained within order - is quintessentially Virgo.
Alas, Virgo’s penchant for perfection can manifest in an overly critical edge - a constant impulse to refine, correct, and resolve. Something of this tension can be felt in The Maiden. Although the painting overflows with a seemingly free-flowing allure, very little is left unresolved. Every surface is occupied; every figure, pattern and detail appear carefully considered. Its attention to detail is undeniably captivating, yet there is something almost claustrophobic about its density. The figures seem at times to be drowning beneath the abundance of ornamentation, while the darkness surrounding them feels as though it is closing in.
Significantly, there is also a sensuality to The Maiden that is not overtly erotic. With her closed eyes, the central figure appears to be in a moment of introspection, enveloped by a world of swirling patterns and geometric forms. Her sensuality feels entirely inward-facing rather than performative, giving it a distinctly private quality. Virgos are often highly selective about the company they keep and which parts of themselves they reveal, placing a strong emphasis on boundaries, discernment and trust. Here, the figure seems entirely absorbed in her inner world; her experience belongs to herself, not to the viewer.
The Maiden’s central figure is enveloped by ornament, and yet she remains centred and self-contained. Like Virgo itself, the painting asks us to look more closely. Every floral form and figure speaks to something bigger; to the cycles of womanhood, sexuality, regeneration and the gradual process of becoming who you’re destined to be. The Maiden feels like a glance into a Virgo’s mind: a world of intricate details, layered meanings and quiet transformation, wonderfully contained within an ordered whole.