All that Glitters…The Life and Art of Gustav Klimt

The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. Source: Wikipedia

This is no ordinary Golden Anniversary. In 2012, Vienna, Austria will celebrate the 150^th birthday of a favorite son, Gustav Klimt with exhibitions, tours and events throughout the city. But he wasn’t always so well accepted; Gustav Klimt was one of the most innovative and controversial artists of the early twentieth century.

Early Years

Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt was born in 1862, the son of a struggling gold and silver engraver in a suburb of Vienna. He and his two brothers all displayed artistic talent early on. Gustav was awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Vienna School of Arts and Crafts. His brother Ernst also enrolled in the school. The two brothers and a friend, Franz Matsch, opened a studio specializing in murals, which was quite successful. So Gustav Klimt began his professional career painting interior murals and ceilings in large public buildings in the prevailing classical-realist style. In 1892, both Klimt’s father and his brother Ernst died, leaving him financially responsible for both families. It was also during this time that he met Emilie Flöge, who would become his lifelong companion. Flöge was the sister of his brother’s widow, and whether or not this relationship was sexual has been the subject of some debate among scholars.

The Founder of the Vienna Secession

The personal tragedies that Klimt endured affected his artistic vision as well, and a new personal style began emerging in this work. As his style grew increasingly experimental, Klimt’s paintings and murals were attacked by critics for their fantastical imagery and bold, decorative style. Partly in response to this criticism, in 1897 Klimt helped form the Secession, a group of artists dedicated to challenging the conservative Academy of Fine Arts, and became its first president. Like impressionism, art nouveau was a revolt against the traditional academic art style and Klimt’s mature style, combining richly decorative surface patterning with complex symbolism and allegory, often with overtly erotic content, became the trademark of the movement.

Gustav Klimt ultimately left the Vienna Secession in 1905 after quarrels and disagreements with another member, Josef Hofmann. Believing that art should not be confined to studios and canvases, Klimt went on to design fashion and jewelry. Together with Kolo Moser, he also designed his companion Emilie Flöge’s the fashion studio.

The Golden Phase

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt

In the early 1900s, Klimt concentrated primarily on portraits and landscapes, however he also produced two of his greatest murals during this period—The Beethoven Frieze, which was exhibited at the Secession in 1902, and decorations for the Palais Stoclet in Brussels (1904-1911). Many of the paintings from Klimt’s “Golden Phase,” which ultimately earned him the greatest critical acclaim and success of his career, are marked by the artist’s prominent use of gold leaf. Klimt’s gold technique was undoubtedly influenced by his father’s profession as an engraver. And while the artist did not travel widely, trips to Venice and Ravenna, both famous for their mosaics, are thought to have further inspired his gold technique and the Byzantine imagery in these paintings. The works most popularly associated with Klimt’s Golden Phase are The Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907) and his most famous painting, The Kiss (1907-1908).

The Kiss

The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. Source: Wikipedia

Klimt generally spent summer holidays with the Flöge family on the Attersee, near Salzburg, where he drew inspiration for many of his landscapes, and where he painted some of his best-known works, including The Kiss. This iconic painting measures 180 by 180 centimeters. Its style is highly ornamental, and the organic lines and contours are characteristic of the Art Nouveau movement.

Some scholars believe that the couple depicted in The Kiss are the artist himself and Emilie Flöge, But whatever his relationship with Flöge, it did not prevent the Klimt from having affairs with a number of his models. Klimt’s love of women clearly extended beyond the canvas, and though always discreet and careful to avoid scandal, the artist was very active sexually. Working and relaxing at home, Klimt characteristically wore sandals and a long robe with no undergarments. And perhaps due in part to this “freedom,” he is believed to have fathered at least 14 children.

Klimt’s works of art were both admired and highly controversial. The paintings were somewhat scandalous at the time because of the nudity they contained, as well as the subtle (and not-so-subtle) sexuality and eroticism portrayed.

The Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph II reportedly disliked Klimt’s art work and the Secessionists so deeply that his drivers had orders not to pass any buildings showing Secessionist art. Nevertheless, Klimt did achieve success in his lifetime. In 1911, his painting, Death and Life, was awarded first prize in the world exhibitions in Rome.

Klimt died on February 6, 1918 in Vienna, after suffering a stroke and pneumonia due to the influenza epidemic of 1918.

Klimt’s painting have since brought some of the highest prices recorded for individual works of art. In 2006, his 1907 portrait, Adele Bloch-Bauer I, was purchased for a reported 135 million dollars, surpassing Picasso’s Boy with a Pipe, as the highest price ever paid for a painting.

Gustav Klimt may have had his ups and downs and disagreements with the critics during his lifetime, but now, on the eve of his 150^th birthday, it seems the verdict is finally in. Not just in his home of Vienna, Austria but worldwide, Klimt is, indeed, golden!

For more information…

The largest collection of Gustav Klimt’s work, including The Kiss, is housed in the Belvedere in Vienna. The museum will host a number of events in commemoration of the artist’s 150^th birthday. This website has more information about Klimt and planned anniversary events, and here you’ll find a wonderful multimedia presentation about Gustav Klimt.

If you’d prefer a book about the artist, we recommend this one: