Portrait of Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt Painting Reproductions 6 of 7

1862-1918

Austrian Secession Painter

Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 - February 6, 1918) was an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Art Nouveau (Vienna Secession) movement. His major works include paintings, murals, sketches and other art objects, many of which are on display in the Vienna Secession gallery. Klimt's primary subject is the female body, and his works are marked by a frank eroticism. His pencil drawings, which are very numerous, have been regarded by many as his greatest legacy.

Life and art
Gustav Klimt was born in Baumgarten, near Vienna, Austria, the second of seven children. His father (Ernst Klimt) was an engraver and was married to Anna Klimt (nee Finster). He lived in poverty for most of his childhood.

He was educated at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts (Kunstgewerbeschule) in the years 1879-1883, and received training as an architectural decorator. He began his professional career painting interior murals in large public buildings on the Ringstrace. Klimt was also an honorary member of the Universities of Munich and Vienna.

In 1893 Klimt was commissioned to do three paintings to decorate the ceiling of the Great Hall in the University of Vienna. His three paintings, Philosphy, Medicine and Jurisprudence were criticized for their radical themes and 'pornographic' material resulting in their not being displayed on the ceiling of the great Hall. All three paintings were eventually destroyed by retreating SS forces in May 1945. This would also be the last time Klimt accepted any public commissions to do work.

His work is distinguished by the elegant gold or coloured decoration, often phallic in shape that conceals the more erotic positions of the drawings he based many of his paintings on. This can be seen in Judith I (1901), and in The Kiss (1907-1908), and especially in Danae (1907). Art historians note an eclectic range of influences contributing to Klimt's distinct style, including Egyptian, Minoan, Classical Greek, and Byzantine inspirations. Klimt was also inspired by the engravings of Albrecht Durer, late medieval European painting, and Japanese Ukiyo-e. His works are also characterized by a rejection of earlier naturalistic styles, and the use of symbols or symbolic elements to convey psychological ideas and emphasize the "freedom" of art from traditional culture.

Klimt was one of the founding members of the Wiener Sezession (Vienna Secession) and of the periodical Ver Sacrum. He left the movement in 1908.

Klimt took annual summer holidays on the shores of Attersee and painted some of the landscapes he saw there.

He died in Vienna on February 6, 1918 of a stroke and was interred at the Hietzing Cemetery, Vienna. Numerous paintings were left unfinished.

Klimt has the distinction of being the artist with the highest selling price on a painting. Purchased for the Neue Galerie in New York by Ronald Lauder for a reported US $135 million, the 1907 portrait "Adele Bloch-Bauer I" deposed Picasso's 1905 "Boy With a Pipe" (sold May 5, 2004 for $104 million) on or around June 19, 2006.

162 Klimt Paintings

Lady at the Fireplace, c.1897/98 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Lady at the Fireplace c.1897/98

Oil Painting
$650
Canvas Print
$49.87
SKU: KLG-10121
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 41 x 66 cm
Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, Austria

Portrait of the Pianist and Piano Teacher Joseph Pembauer, 1890 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of the Pianist and Piano Teacher Joseph ... 1890

Oil Painting
$1078
Canvas Print
$94.81
SKU: KLG-10122
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 69 x 55 cm
Tyrolean State Museum, Innsbruck, Austria

Hofburg actor Josef Lewinsky as Carlos, 1895 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Hofburg actor Josef Lewinsky as Carlos 1895

Oil Painting
$1198
Canvas Print
$70.36
SKU: KLG-10123
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 64 x 44 cm
Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, Austria

Cows in Stable, 1900 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Cows in Stable 1900

Oil Painting
$1212
Canvas Print
$64.98
SKU: KLG-10124
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann, c.1900/01 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann c.1900/01

Oil Painting
$1245
Canvas Print
$49.87
SKU: KLG-10125
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 140 x 80 cm
Private Collection

Two Girls With An Oleander, 1892 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Two Girls With An Oleander 1892

Oil Painting
$1667
Canvas Print
$49.87
SKU: KLG-10126
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 55 x 128 cm
Private Collection

Portrait of Marie Breunig, c.1893/94 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Marie Breunig c.1893/94

Oil Painting
$1633
Canvas Print
$49.87
SKU: KLG-10127
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 168 x 84 cm
Private Collection

Ria Munk on Her Deathbed, 1912 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Ria Munk on Her Deathbed 1912

Oil Painting
$712
Canvas Print
$63.09
SKU: KLG-10128
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 50 x 50.5 cm
Private Collection

Portrait of Helene Klimt, 1898 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Helene Klimt 1898

Oil Painting
$632
Canvas Print
$49.87
SKU: KLG-10129
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 60 x 40 cm
Private Collection

Pale Face, 1903 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Pale Face 1903

Oil Painting
$607
SKU: KLG-10130
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 80 x 40 cm
Neue Galerie, New York, USA

Allegory of Sculpture, 1896 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Allegory of Sculpture 1896

Paper Art Print
$47.49
SKU: KLG-10131
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 42 x 31 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria

Portrait of Gertrud Loew, 1902 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Gertrud Loew 1902

Oil Painting
$1620
Canvas Print
$49.87
SKU: KLG-10132
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 149.5 x 45 cm
Private Collection

Portrait of a Lady in Red and Black, c.1907/08 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of a Lady in Red and Black c.1907/08

Oil Painting
$747
SKU: KLG-10133
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 96 x 47 cm
Private Collection

Hope, c.1903/04 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Hope c.1903/04

Paper Art Print
$47.49
SKU: KLG-10134
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 44.5 x 30.5 cm
Private Collection

Portrait of a Young Woman, n.d. by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of a Young Woman n.d.

Paper Art Print
$47.49
SKU: KLG-10135
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: unknown
National Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic

Reclining Female Nude, c.1914 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Reclining Female Nude c.1914

Paper Art Print
$47.49
SKU: KLG-10136
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 37 x 57 cm
Private Collection

Standing Nude Girl Looking Up, n.d. by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Standing Nude Girl Looking Up n.d.

Paper Art Print
$47.49
SKU: KLG-10137
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 44.5 x 31.8 cm
Private Collection

Seated Girl in Shadow, n.d. by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Seated Girl in Shadow n.d.

Paper Art Print
$47.49
SKU: KLG-10138
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 44.5 x 31.8 cm
Private Collection

Female Bust in Profile, c.1916 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Female Bust in Profile c.1916

Paper Art Print
$50.90
SKU: KLG-10139
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 57.2 x 37.4 cm
Private Collection

Reclining Semi-Nude, 1913 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Reclining Semi-Nude 1913

Paper Art Print
$49.61
SKU: KLG-10140
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 37.1 x 56.2 cm
Private Collection

Nude with Long Hair and Forward Leaning Torso, c.1907 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Nude with Long Hair and Forward Leaning Torso c.1907

Paper Art Print
$47.49
SKU: KLG-10141
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 56.2 x 37.3 cm
Private Collection

Reclining Semi-Nude with Spread Legs, c.1917/18 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Reclining Semi-Nude with Spread Legs c.1917/18

Paper Art Print
$47.49
SKU: KLG-10142
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 56.5 x 37.2 cm
Private Collection

Bust of a Lady, c.1917 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Bust of a Lady c.1917

Paper Art Print
$47.49
SKU: KLG-10143
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 50 x 32.2 cm
Private Collection

Standing Female Nude, c.1907 by Klimt | Painting Reproduction

Standing Female Nude c.1907

Paper Art Print
$47.49
SKU: KLG-10144
Gustav Klimt
Original Size: 56 x 37 cm
Private Collection

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