Klimt, Gustav

Austrian Symbolist painter Gustav Klimt, July 14th 1862 – February 6th 1918

One of the most prominent members of the Vienna Art Nouveau. Gustav Klimt was awarded a scholarship in 1876 to study at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts. He was trained there as an architectural painter and studied there until 1883. Following his studies, he was in 1884 commissioned to decorate the ceilings of the Great Hall at the University of Vienna. The resulting three paintings caused an uproar and were criticized as being basically pornographic. The critizism came from all sides, including political, religious and aesthetic. The paintings were not displayed and Klimt never again accepted any public commission. The paintings themselves were destroyed by the retreating SS forces in 1945. In 1888, emporer Franz Josef I of Austria bestowed the Goldern Order of Merit on Klimt for his contribution to murals in Burgtheater in Vienna. He also became an honorary member of the University of Vienna and the University of Munich. In 1897, Klimt became one of the founding members of the Vienna Secession. He remained with the group until 1908. The major works by Klimt includes paintings, murals, sketches and other objects of art, many of which can be found on display in Vienna. His work was focused on the female body and was distinguished by a certain eroticism. Among his most famous works are The Kiss and Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, the last of which was sold for $135 million in 2006.