Gustav Klimt

“I am not interested in myself as a subject for painting, but in others, particularly women…”Beautiful, sensuous and above all erotic, Gustav Klimt’s paintings speak of a world of opulence and leisure, which seems aeons away from the harsh, post-modern environment we live in now. The subjects he treats – allegories, portraits, landscapes and erotic figures – contain virtually no reference to external events, but strive rather to create a world where beauty, above everything else, is dominant. His use of colour and pattern was profoundly influenced by the art of Japan, ancient Egypt, and Byzantium. Ravenne, the flat, two-dimensional perspective of his paintings, and the frequently stylised quality of his images form an oeuvre imbued with a profound sensuality and one where the figure of woman, above all, reigns supreme. Klimt’s very first works brought him success at an unusually young age. Gustav, born in 1862, obtained a state grant to study at Kunstgewerbeschule (the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts) at the age of fourteen. His talents as a draughtsman and painter were quickly noticed, and in 1879 he formed the Künstlercompagnie (Artists’ Company) with his brother Ernst and another student, Franz Matsch. The latter part of the nineteenth century was a period of great architectural activity in Vienna. In 1857, the Emperor Franz Joseph had ordered the destruction of the fortifications that had surrounded the medieval city centre. The Ringstrasse was the result, a budding new district with magnificent buildings and beautiful parks, all paid for by public expenses. Therefore the young Klimt and his partners had ample opportunities to show off their talents, and they received early commissions to contribute to the decorations for the pageant organised to celebrate the silver wedding anniversary of the Emperor Franz Joseph and the Empress Elisabeth. In 1894, Matsch moved out of their communal studio, and in 1897 Klimt, together with his closest friends, resigned from the Künstlerhausgenossenschaft (the Cooperative Society of Austrian Artists) to form a new movement known as the Secession, of which he was immediately elected president. The Secession was a great success, holding both a first and second exhibition in 1898. The movement made enough money to commission its very own building, designed for it by the architect Joseph Maria Olbrich. Above the entrance was its motto: “To each age its art, to art its freedom.” From around 1897 onward, Klimt spent almost every summer on the Attersee with the Flöge family. These were periods of peace and tranquillity in which he produced the landscape paintings constituting almost a quarter of his entire oeuvre. Klimt made sketches for virtually everything he did. Sometimes there were over a hundred drawings for one painting, each showing a different detail – a piece of clothing or jewellery, or a simple gesture. Just how exceptional Gustav Klimt was is perhaps reflected in the fact that he had no predecessors and no real followers. He admired Rodin and Whistler without slavishly copying them, and was admired in turn by the younger Viennese painters Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, both of whom were greatly influenced by Klimt.

“I am not interested in myself as a subject for painting, but in others, particularly women…”Beautiful, sensuous and above all erotic, Gustav Klimt’s paintings speak of a world of opulence and leisure, which seems aeons away from the harsh, post-modern environment we live in now. The subjects he treats – allegories, portraits, landscapes and erotic figures – contain virtually no reference to external events, but strive rather to create a world where beauty, above everything else, is dominant. His use of colour and pattern was profoundly influenced by the art of Japan, ancient Egypt, and Byzantium. Ravenne, the flat, two-dimensional perspective of his paintings, and the frequently stylised quality of his images form an oeuvre imbued with a profound sensuality and one where the figure of woman, above all, reigns supreme. Klimt’s very first works brought him success at an unusually young age. Gustav, born in 1862, obtained a state grant to study at Kunstgewerbeschule (the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts) at the age of fourteen. His talents as a draughtsman and painter were quickly noticed, and in 1879 he formed the Künstlercompagnie (Artists’ Company) with his brother Ernst and another student, Franz Matsch. The latter part of the nineteenth century was a period of great architectural activity in Vienna. In 1857, the Emperor Franz Joseph had ordered the destruction of the fortifications that had surrounded the medieval city centre. The Ringstrasse was the result, a budding new district with magnificent buildings and beautiful parks, all paid for by public expenses. Therefore the young Klimt and his partners had ample opportunities to show off their talents, and they received early commissions to contribute to the decorations for the pageant organised to celebrate the silver wedding anniversary of the Emperor Franz Joseph and the Empress Elisabeth. In 1894, Matsch moved out of their communal studio, and in 1897 Klimt, together with his closest friends, resigned from the Künstlerhausgenossenschaft (the Cooperative Society of Austrian Artists) to form a new movement known as the Secession, of which he was immediately elected president. The Secession was a great success, holding both a first and second exhibition in 1898. The movement made enough money to commission its very own building, designed for it by the architect Joseph Maria Olbrich. Above the entrance was its motto: “To each age its art, to art its freedom.” From around 1897 onward, Klimt spent almost every summer on the Attersee with the Flöge family. These were periods of peace and tranquillity in which he produced the landscape paintings constituting almost a quarter of his entire oeuvre. Klimt made sketches for virtually everything he did. Sometimes there were over a hundred drawings for one painting, each showing a different detail – a piece of clothing or jewellery, or a simple gesture. Just how exceptional Gustav Klimt was is perhaps reflected in the fact that he had no predecessors and no real followers. He admired Rodin and Whistler without slavishly copying them, and was admired in turn by the younger Viennese painters Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, both of whom were greatly influenced by Klimt.

1;Contents;5
2;The Viennese Secession;7
3;His Life;19
4;His Work;63
4.1;FABLE;64
4.2;THE IDYLL;67
4.3;THE THEATRE OF TAORMINA;68
4.4;FEMALE NUDE LYING DOWN;71
4.5;AUDITORIUM OF THE OLD BURGTHEATER;72
4.6;PORTRAIT OF JOSEPH PEMBAUR;75
4.7;ANCIENT GREEK ART I;76
4.8;THE LOVE;79
4.9;MUSIC I;80
4.10;FINAL DRAWING FOR THE ALLEGORY OF TRAGEDY;83
4.11;FISH BLOOD;84
4.12;COMPOSITIONAL PROJECT FOR MEDICINE;87
4.13;PALLAS ATHENA;88
4.14;PORTRAIT OF SONJA KNIPS;91
4.15;EXHIBITION WALLPAPER FOR SECESSION I;92
4.16;NUDA VERITAS;95
4.17;NUDA VERITAS (DETAIL);96
4.18;SCHUBERT AT PIANO;99
4.19;TWO LOVERS;100
4.20;ISLAND ON THE ATTERSEE;103
4.21;GOLDFISH;104
4.22;JUDITH I;107
4.23;PORTRAIT OF GERTHA FELSOVANYI;108
4.24;THE BEETHOVEN FRIEZE: AMBITION, COMPASSION AND THE KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR (DETAIL);111
4.25;PORTRAIT OF EMILIE FLÖGE;112
4.26;FOREST OF BEECH TREES I;115
4.27;HOPE I;116
4.28;WATER SNAKES I;119
4.29;WATER SNAKES II;120
4.30;THE THREE AGES OF WOMEN;123
4.31;PORTRAIT OF MARGARET STONBOROUGH-WITTGENSTEIN;124
4.32;THE STOCLET FRIEZE (DETAIL);127
4.33;SUNFLOWER GARDEN;128
4.34;PORTRAIT OF FRITZA RIEDLER;131
4.35;MEDICINE;132
4.36;HYGIEIA (DETAIL OF MEDICINE);135
4.37;PORTRAIT OF ADELE BLOCH-BAUER I;136
4.38;HOPE II;139
4.39;THE KISS;140
4.40;THE KISS (DETAIL);143
4.41;DANAË;144
4.42;KAMMER CASTLE ON THE ATTERSEE I;147
4.43;WOMAN IN HAT WITH FEATHER BOA;148
4.44;JUDITH II;151
4.45;THE BLACK FEATHER HAT;152
4.46;LIFE AND DEATH;155
4.47;GARDEN WITH CRUCIFIX;156
4.48;FARMHOUSE IN UPPER AUSTRIA;159
4.49;PORTRAIT OF ADELE BLOCH-BAUER II;160
4.50;RIA MUNK ON HER DEATH BED;163
4.51;PORTRAIT OF MÄDA PRIMAVESI;164
4.52;PORTRAIT OF EUGENIA PRIMAVESI;167
4.53;VIRGIN;168
4.54;MALCESINE ON LAKE GARDA;171
4.55;PORTRAIT OF ELISABETH BACHOFEN-ECHT;172
4.56;HOUSES AT UNTERACH ON THE ATTERSEE;175
4.57;PORTRAIT OF FRIEDERIKE MARIA BEER;176
4.58;PATH OF GARDEN AND HENS;179
4.59;THE CHURCH AT UNTERACH ON THE ATTERSEE;180
4.60;GIRLFRIENDS (DETAIL);183
4.61;BABY;184
4.62;ADAM AND EVE (UNFINISHED);187
4.63;DANCER;188
4.64;BRIDE (UNFINISHED);191
5;Biography;192
6;Index;194