The life and works of Gustav Klimt
Gustav Klimt was one of the most notorious painters of the 19th century, who inspired many young artists. Most famous for his painting ‘The Kiss’ (see cover photo) which currently resides in the Belvedere museum in Vienna, Austria and gets visited by millions of people every year. I chose Klimt for this article for an uncountable number of reasons, a few being; his many unique art styles, his indifference towards Venetian society and of course the art itself. Gustav Klimt is not a ‘household name’ and I want to change this, finally giving an amazing artist the recognition he deserves.
Early Life
Klimt was born on July 14th, 1862, in Baumgarten (near Vienna) Austria, he was the second of seven children born to the engraver and goldsmith Ernest Klimt and his wife Anna Klimt. They were a lower-middle class family of Moravian origins (a historic region that's now a part of the Czech Republic). Although there is a lack of evidence, it is reported that Klimt ‘displayed notable artistic talent from an early age’ (1).
Early studies
The claim that Klimt was an artistic prodigy is backed up by his scholarship to the school of applied arts in Vienna (Kunstgewerbeschule in German) at only 14 years old in 1876. Not long behind him was his brother, Ernest Klimt who joined the school in the following year (1877). For seven years he, his brother Ernest, and close friend Franz Matsch, studied a wide range of techniques from mosaic to fresco (a technique used for mural painting) under Professor Ferdinand Laufburger. Throughout their studies, the brothers had to provide for their family by drawing portraits from photographs and selling them for 6 guilders a piece (directly equivalent to £0.12 but worth around £90).
Early commissions
The three worked so well together that Professor Laufburger was able to procure design commissions for them. Their first official commissions happened in 1880, the four allegories for the palais Sturany, and not long after, the celling at the Karlsbad spa. Their most impressive commission however was the creation of several large-scale decorations for Emperor Franz Joseph's silver wedding anniversary. Not long after this project, Klimt became unsatisfied with classical motifs alone and decided to study the art of realistic portraiture. The untimely death of Hanz Markart (one of Klimt’s biggest inspirations) led the three young men to another notable commission, the completion of eight spandrel and three intercolumnar paintings, depicting the history of art from ancient Egypt to cinquecento Florence. It was not long before the three started to get commissions for portraits, this was when Klimt really started to establish himself. Unfortunately, Klimt’s change in style led the artistic trio to fall apart. Franz Matsch branched out into portraiture, which he did with some success. Ernest Klimt followed in his father's footsteps and became a goldsmith, which he pursued until his untimely death in 1892 (only a few months after the stroke and subsequent death of their father).
Solo career
Klimt gained considerable popularity by himself and started being commissioned to draw the wives of wealthy Viennese people. The portrait of Sonja Knips is one of the most notable, portraying a young society lady with the expression of aloofness and distain, Klimt painted ‘eroticisms’, nude women often painted to look ethereal; Klimt received considerable backlash for this by Viennese society, yet was unbothered by the backlash, and continued to paint eroticisms throughout his entire career.
The golden phase
Klimt’s ‘golden phase’ is often considered to be from 1900-1910. However, and is characterised by his sudden taking to gold paint using in both the clothing and background of his paintings, his first use of gold was in the Pallas Athene 1989; this oil painting depicts Greek goddess Athena clad in gold armour, striking a defiant pose. Another early example of Klimt’s golden phase is Judith I. Like many of Klimt’s paintings, this piece includes a woman (in this case it's the biblical figure Judith, whose most well-known for slaying Holofernes) set against a gold background and surrounded by decorative designs.
The Beethoven frieze
Klimt moved deeper into the ‘golden phase’ in 1902 with the Beethoven Frieze; this piece was created for the 14th Vienna secessionist exhibition, in order to celebrate the composer Ludwig van Beethoven and his ninth symphony, particularly the ‘ode to joy'. This piece is a whopping 34.14 meters long and 2.15 meters high- it was only supposed to be a temporary piece, and so Klimt applied it directly to the walls, using light materials so it could be easily taken down. Fortunately, it was expertly preserved, but it was unfortunately kept out of the public eye until 1986. Therefore, making it one of Klimt’s least known, and most mythologised works. This piece currently resides in the secession building in Vienna, Austria.
The portait of Adele Bloch-Bauer 1
As a very successful contemporary artist, Klimt was often commissioned to paint Vienna’s upper-class women, the most well-known of these depictions is Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer 1 (1907), this piece features the wife of a wealthy Jewish banker. This painting combines realism and abstraction effortlessly, the bold use of gold, Egyptian eyes and Mycenaean spiral scrolls gives this piece endless depth and makes it almost seem ethereal.
The villa Stoclet
Klimt’s final mural was the Stoclet Frieze (1905-1909).This piece contains nine panels of abstract motifs that depict the life cycle, and an ornamental three-part mosaic frieze of marble inlaid with gold, enamel and semi-precious stones (this collaboration between art and architecture was a watershed within art history). Adolphe Stoclet (a Belgian industrialist) gave the contract for a new house to Wiener Werkstatte(an arts and craft movements that aimed to integrate art and design into everyday life), and Gustav Klimt. In this work, more than any others, Klimt displayed his mastery of mosaic. The central motif of this frieze is the tree of life; this piece is the physical embodiment of the tree of life from the book of revelation (final book of the New Testament in The Bible).
The Kiss
Not long after the villa Stoclet came Klimt's most famous piece, The Kiss (1908). This is a groundbreaking piece in Klimt’s career; this is the first time he's depicted a woman as submissive. In this painting, she is yielding to the man, abandoning herself to him. While the exact reason for his shift in how he painted women is unknown there are a few theories, such as his friendship with Adele Bloch-Bauer, or perhaps his involvement with the venetian secession (An art movement which protested against the conservatism of venetian art and society). What most don’t know, is that the man in the painting is actually Klimt himself, and the woman was his beloved Emile Floge. Floge was a prominent fashion designer and businesswoman, while the pair never married, they shared a deep friendship that lasted for many years.
The end of 'the golden phase'
Despite his immense success, Klimt began to have doubts, finding himself feeling isolated from young artists; ‘the young no longer understand me. They go elsewhere. It’s a bit early for that to happen to me, but it happens to every artist” The reality however, being that young artists viewed Klimt as no less than a god. Klimt had come to realise that gold leaf led to rigid stylisation, making subtle psychological expression impossible. Leading to his final ‘art style’.
Expressionism
Expressionism is when a typical image of a person or landscape becomes dramatic, colours are often intensified, and forms are often distorted, so an artist can express their inner most feelings or emotions. This movement had just started when Klimt became discouraged from gold, and he decided this was the route his art should take. He took inspiration from the likes of Egon Schiele, Edvard Munch and Henri Matisse. Despite his style change, Klimt's popularity only continued to grow-the nouveaux riches were desperate to attain a portrait of their wives done by Klimt. The great works of Klimt's last phase are revealed in portraits such as Mada Primavesi and Adele Bloch-Bauer 2.
Portaiture
The best way to view how Klimt's work changed is to compare the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer 1 and 2, and I'm sure you will agree, the differences are astounding. Klimt's portrayal of women changed drastically, now painting them in a much more innocent and charming way compared to his previous work. Many liken the women to ‘large dolls waiting to be taken out of their boxes’(2). Klimt also adopted the principle that women and flowers are intimately linked, which is why flowers feature heavily in the background.
Life and death
This piece, completed in 1911, is one of Klimt’s most famous artworks from this period. This piece depicts several characters at different stages of life; on the right, surrounded by bright colours and patterns, and on the left stands death, cloaked in dark muted colours and covered in black crosses. This work, unlike many others from the time, doesn’t depict death as ‘scary’; while the figure looks unnerving to us, the characters within the image seem to disregard it. This piece currently resides in the Leopold Museum, Vienna.
Japanese Influence
He had encountered Japanese prints at the World Expedition 1873 in Vienna and quickly became fascinated. Klimt started collecting prints, buying books on Japanese art, and even learned to woodblock print. Klimt was not the only one fascinated by Japanese art, both Monet and van Gogh also showed a great fascination around this time. He first used Japanese influences for the flowers and birds in the scotlet frieze. But his fascination became a lot more apparent during his expressionism period. Many of Klimt's later portraits include Japanese birds, animals and ornamental figures.
Later Life
Klimt’s work took another turn around in1915; the artist gave up on bright colours, choosing instead more sombre and monochrome effects. Many attribute this depressive shift to the outbreak of the First World War and the death of his mother.Unfortunately, we don't know much about Klimt's life beyond his paintings. We do know however that he lived a relaxed artistic lifestyle, he was modest, and he did not view his art as achievements despite their popularity, “I can paint and draw. I believe that myself, and some other people say that they believe it. But I am not entirely certain it is true.”
Klimt passed away on the 6th of February 1918 of a stroke, leaving behind many unfinished pieces.
References
Neret, Gilles. “Gustav Klimt.” Taschen, 2022 (1)(2)
Richman-Abdou, Kelly “The splendid history of Gustav Klimt’s Glistening “golden phase””. My modern net, 2018, https://mymodernmet.com/gustav-klimt-golden-phase/
Biography.com Editors. “Gustav Klimt Biography”, A&E; Televisin Networks, 2014, https://www.biography.com/artists/gustav-klimt?utm
“Gustav Klimt Biography.” Gustav Klimt, https://www.gustav-klimt.com/
Stanska, Zuzanna “Gustav Klimt and Emilie Floge- The everlasting friendship” Daily art magazine, 2025, https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/gustav-klimt-emilie-floge/
Khapava, Lianna “5 alluring female portraits by gustav Klimt”. The collector, https://www.thecollector.com/gustav-klimt-female-portraits/
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