Gustav Klimt
Symbolist painter
Gustav Klimt-July 14 1862-February 6 1918
This little blog is about probably one of my favorite painters, I’m drawn to the sensuality of his art…
A symbolist painter, and a prominent member of the Vienna secession movement, Klimt was known for his paintings and objects d’art, his primary subject was the female body, and his works of art are marked as eroticism, bordering on pornographic, and so they thought back in the day, he also painted landscapes, and was influenced by Japanese art and its methods.
His paintings were a subject of controversy and were considered pornographic, he found a new success in his golden phase, many paintings included gold leaf.
Klimt began his profitable career, painting, murals and ceilings in public buildings in 1888 Klimt receive the golden order of merit from Emperor Franz Josef of Austria for his contributions to his paintings in the Burg-theater in Vienna.
When Klimt’s father and brother died he had to take on family Financial responsibilities, this also affected his artistic style and vision. Soon he moved to nuda veritas.( naked truth ) as symbolic, historians believe it was the Klimt’s way of denouncing the Habsburgs and Austrian society, which ignored all political and social problems.
In 1890’s Klimt met Emillie Louise Floge, she would be his partner and companion for the rest of his life, his painting The Kiss 1907-08 show an image of them as lovers, which was painted five years after Klimt’s 1902, full length portrait of her. During his period Klimt fathered 14 children …😳
In 1894 Klimt was commissioned to create three paintings to decorate the ceiling of the great hall of the University ofVienna his three paintings. Philosophy, medicine, and jurisprudence were criticized for their radical themes and material and called pornographic, Klimt had transformed allegory and symbolism into a new language that was more overtly, sexual and more disturbing to some. All three paintings were destroyed in 1945 by the retreating German forces, plus 10 more …
From 1900 Gustav Klimt became famous above all as a painter of women he created one painting a year, which was in the art nouveau style…
Femme fatales, eros, sexuality and femininity were interpreted by him as alluring, dangerous love, and death which are important themes of Klimt’s work, Klimt’s, Goldleaf period, The Kiss was his most popular.
1905 Klimt painted The Three Ages Of Women depicting the cycle of life…
His simple life with somewhat cloistered, devoted to art and family. He avoided café society and seldom socialized with the other artists although very active sexually, he kept his affairs discreet and he avoided personal scandal.
Relationships, where with Jewish Viennese haute bourgeois…he cultivated, close, intimate relationships with his models he was progressive because he allowed women an active role in sexuality..
In 1918, having suffered a stroke and pneumonia, brought about by the Spanish influenza he passed away…
The Kiss
Garden Cat
Church in Cassone
This is so very interesting Halina. I love all the background, personal and historical, that you give for the artist. I do not know that much about him so learning about his art and what inspired him is very interesting. Your detail about his progressive style is very well written. Thank you for sharing this artist with us. Very well written.
Halina very well written and very informative. I don’t know him I actually did not get into art so much even though I did take art in high school which does not compare to this. He did have a raw sense to him.