At what age did his career begin? How much did women influence his work? What scandals marked his life? What made him so famous? On our website you will learn everything you need to know about the famous painter from Vienna need to know
Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) – an Austrian artist of the century
Gustav Klimt was a main representative of Viennese Art Nouveau , founder of the Vienna Secession and influenced among others Egon Schiele and the young Oskar Kokoschka. Klimt portrayed the rich and beautiful women of Vienna and is considered a painter genius of the turn of the century. His portraits of women fetch top prices on the international art market.
His talent was recognized early
Gustav Klimt was born in Baumgarten near Vienna on July 14, 1862, the second of seven children of the Bohemian goldsmith Ernest Klimt and his wife Rosalia.
His career as an artist began early: at the age of 14 he received a scholarship to the School of Applied Arts of the Imperial and Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry (today’s University of Applied Arts). Together with his younger brother Ernst Klimt and classmate Franz Matsch , he founded a studio community called the Künstler-Compagnie in 1883.
The company, originally based at Sandwirtgasse 8 in Vienna and later at Josefstädter Straße 21, was quickly in demand and received numerous commissions, for example for the decoration of theaters, palaces and villas in Vienna . The company also produced curtain and ceiling paintings for the theaters in Reichenberg, Karlovy Vary and Fiume as well as murals in Peleș Castle in the city of Sinaia .
One of the main commissions was the design of the staircases and interiors of the Vienna Burgtheater. The ceiling design of the Hermes Villa and the staircase in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna can also be traced back to the painter trio. The watercolor entitled “Auditorium in the Old Burgtheater”, painted in 1888 and 1889, was even awarded the Kaiser Prize.
Around 1890 Gustav Klimt broke away from the strong academic tradition and tried to develop his own style . He became more expressionistic and increasingly relied on the two-dimensional ornamentation so famous today, now known as typical of Klimt.
In 1891 he was accepted into the Cooperative Society of Fine Arts of Vienna (Künstlerhaus). Only one year later he had to cope with two heavy blows of fate . After his father died in July 1892, he also had to say goodbye to his younger brother Ernst Klimt in December, whereupon the artists’ company was dissolved. At least from an artistic point of view, however, 1892 also brought positive news. The poster designed by Gustav Klimt for the International Music and Theater Exhibition in Vienna received much attention.
The scandal about the ceiling paintings of the University of Vienna
Art always came first for him; making major compromises for clients was not in Klimt’s mind. This became particularly clear in the wake of one of the biggest art scandals of the 20th century.
In 1894 Klimt, together with his old companion Franz Matsch , was commissioned by the Imperial and Royal Ministry of Education to paint the ceiling of the University of Vienna. Ministry of Education commissioned the ceiling paintings of the ballroom of the Vienna University , the so-called faculty paintings.
Large ceiling paintings were already planned for the completion of the main building planned by architect Heinrich von Ferstel in 1884, but for reasons of cost they were dispensed with for the time being. Ten years later, the time would finally come. The responsible commission of the university envisaged the “Triumph of Light over Darkness” as the central theme.
The four faculties of the university (medicine, philosophy, theology and jurisprudence) were to be represented in four separate images each. In addition,twelve so-called “Zwickelbilder” were planned, each of which was to represent the personified sciences.
Criticism and awards
The execution of the order took several years. However, as Klimt’s style developed more and more clearly from historicism towards symbolism during this period, the revised paintings also moved increasingly away from the originally approved drawings. When Matsch and Klimt finally presented their designs to the Ministry’s Art Commission and the University’s Artistic Commission, they were met with mixed reactions.
While Matsch’s paintings received a rather positive evaluation, Gustav Klimt’s designs were rejected by 87 members of the faculty. After Klimt’s painting “Philosophy”, which after all had been awarded a gold medal at the Paris World Exhibition, had met with particularly fierce opposition, he showed himself even less willing to compromise than before with the works “Medicine” and “Jurisprudence”.
Especially the depiction of naked women, but also the visually quite different styles of the two artists led to harsh criticism. Most of the press at the time supported this opinion.
Gustav Klimt, however, refused to give in to the conservative wishes of his patrons. Rightly so, as international awards have proven. But in his hometown of Vienna, he was downright attacked for it. He then returned the commission for jurisprudence, medicine and philosophy. When the Ministry of Education prohibited him from showing the faculty paintings at the St. Louis World’s Fair, he also relinquished the commission for six spandrel paintings to Matsch.
The founding of the Vienna Secession
On May 24, 1897, Klimt resigned from the Cooperative of Fine Arts in Vienna and, together with his friends Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser and other artists, founded a new artists’ association modelled on the Munich Secession, called the Vienna Secession . From 1897 to 1899 he also served as the first president of the Secession. The reason for the secession was the rejection of the prevailing conservatism and historicism.
The first exhibition took place the following year at Friedrichstraße 12 in Vienna’s 1st district. On the occasion of the 14th exhibition of the Secession in 1902 Gustav Klimt created the famous Beethoven frieze. He also maintained close contacts with members of the Wiener Werkstätte at the time.
Gustav Klimt was also deeply connected with the Vienna Belvedere. The founding of the Modern Gallery in 1903 in the Lower Belvedere, for example, was the result of an initiative by Klimt and other artist colleagues. Their goal was to create a place for contemporary art from Austria and to show these paintings in an international context.
In protest against the “overly naturalistic style” of some artists, Klimt resigned from the Vienna Secession, which he had co-founded, in 1905 with a number of like-minded artists and his paintings were removed from the Secession building.
Gustav Klimt and the golden period
Klimt loved women and women loved him. The young Alma Mahler was one of his first muses. Although the painter was never married, he maintained intimate relationships with several women and fathered at least six children. It is proven that he was closely connected with many clients. But to what extent the relationships with the ladies he portrayed actually went can only be surmised today. His biography provides little information about this.
In 1902 he painted a portrait of Emilie Flöge, who became his “life person. He had a close friendship with the owner of the Flöge fashion salon, and she was even considered his partner. Together they spent many summers at Lake Attersee in Upper Austria, where many of Klimt’s nature paintings were created. Klimt also produced designs for reform dresses for the Flöge fashion salon.
The well-known work “Judith and Holofernes“, also known as “Judith 1”, had already been written a year earlier. It is considered an early work of the “golden period”, which was to last about ten years and produced the artist’s most famous paintings. On it is a scene from the Bible: the pious widow Judith holds the head of Holofernes in her hands shortly after his beheading, whereby the head was only partially visible on the right edge. A bloody depiction was deliberately omitted.
Record price for “Adele Bloch-Bauer I
The “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” followed in 1907. The “Golden Adele” is one of the painter’s most important works and, due to a restitution process, now hangs in the New Gallery in Manhattan in New York . In 2006, the painting was worth a whopping 135 million US dollars to the entrepreneur Ronald Lauder. The purchase price went down in history, no one had ever spent so much for a painting before.
Adele-Bloch-Bauer was the only lady who was portrayed twice by Gustav Klimt. In 1912 he painted her again, this time standing in front of a colored background. The picture bears the significant title “Adele Bloch-Bauer II”.
In the same year as the “golden Adele” the portrait of “Danaë” was created, it shows a figure from Greek mythology. According to tradition, it was the mistress of Zeus, the father of the gods, who fed her in the form of a golden rain and to whom she later gave birth to the son Perseus.
1907 was also remarkable for Austrian art history for other reasons, since it was then that he had his first personal meeting with Egon Schiele, who was considered a great admirer. Egon Schiele who was considered a great admirer of the painter. Klimt became a fatherly friend and mentor to him.
A gentle kiss that outlasts all time
The most famous painting by Gustav Klimt is undoubtedly “The Kiss”, originally titled “The Lovers”. No other of his images has been reproduced more often, and to this day the motif adorns countless items for sale.
The work in the format 180 × 180 cm shows a man and a woman in happy togetherness, whereby the title-giving kiss can only be guessed. The names of the lovers can also only be guessed at. Speculation that it was Gustav Klimt and Emilie Flöge could not be proven. “The Kiss” was first presented at the opening of the Vienna Art Exhibition in 1908 and is now on display in the Belvedere Vienna at Prinz-Eugen-Straße 27.
By the way, the permanent exhibition at the Belvedere not only shows a collection of well-known works from the golden period, but also paintings from Klimt’s early phase, which was still impressionistic.
Late tribute and the death of Gustav Klimt
An application for appointment as professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna was rejected by the Imperial and Royal Ministry of Education. Ministry of Education rejected his application for the fourth time in 1917. The Academy responded by unceremoniously naming Gustav Klimt an honorary member on October 26 – Austria’s national holiday.
It was to be the last great honor in his lifetime. On January 11, 1918, Klimt suffered a stroke in his apartment at Westbahnstraße 36, as a result of which he died in Vienna General Hospital at Alser Straße 4 on February 6, 1918. His remains were buried at the Hietzing cemetery.
Time Travel Tip: Klimt’s birthplace in Linzer Straße in 1140 Vienna is unfortunately no longer preserved, it was demolished in 1966. However, his last studio, his villa at Feldmühlgasse 11 in Hietzing, can still be visited and is one of the most exciting sights in Vienna .
More info: Klimt Villa | Klimt’s last studio
