Editing Gustav Klimt (section)

=== The "Company of Artists" ===
[[File:Gustav Klimt in 1887.jpg|thumb|Gustav Klimt in 1887|329x329px]]
In 1877, Klimt's brother Ernst, who would become an engraver like their father, also enrolled in the Kunstgewerbeschule. Klimt, Ernst, and their friend [[Franz von Matsch]], whom Klimt had met during the entrance examination, soon began working together. By 1880, they had formed a team called the ''Künstlercompagnie'', the "Company of Artists", and secured numerous commissions. They also helped their teacher in painting murals in the [[Kunsthistorisches Museum]] in Vienna.{{Sfn | Sabarsky | 1983 | p = 7}} Laufberger recommended them to [[Fellner & Helmer|Fellner & Hellmer]], a Viennese firm specialising in theatre construction, with whom they were involved in many projects including in [[Fiume]], [[Liberec|Reichenberg]], [[Karlsbad (Boehmen)|Karlsbad]] and [[Bucharest]].{{Sfn|Fliedl|1994|p=35}}{{Sfn|Whitford|1990|p=39}}

After leaving the Kunstgewerbeschule in 1883, Ernst, Klimt, and Matsch move into a joint studio in Vienna to work together on various joint commissions. This work includes ancestral portraits based on engravings for the Romanian royal palace of [[Peleș Castle]].{{Sfn|Bäumer|1986|p=23}} In 1886 the studio partnership works on painting decoration in the Karlsbad municipal theatre, notably painting the vaulted ceiling and theatre curtain.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2013-02-02 |title=Town Theatre |url=https://www.karlovyvary.cz/en/town-theatre |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=Karlovy Vary |language=en}}</ref>{{Sfn|Bäumer|1986|p=24}} The same year they also start work on the ceiling and [[spandrel]] murals for the two staircases of the [[Burgtheater]] in Vienna. It is for Klimt's contributions to these murals that upon their completion in 1888, Emperor [[Franz Joseph I of Austria]] awards him the [[Cross of Merit (Austria-Hungary)|Gold Cross of Merit]], the highest artistic honour available in Austria.{{Sfn|Sabarsky|1983|p=7}}{{Sfn|Bäumer|1986|p=24}} The Viennese City Council also commissioned Klimt to paint a view of the interior of the old theatre before its demolition. His painting, ''Audience at the Old Burgtheater'', helped him obtain recognition among Vienna's high society and public acclaim. In 1890, Klimt became the first recipient of the newly created {{Interlanguage link|Kaiserpreis (art)|lt=Kaiserpreis|de|Kaiserpreis (Kunst)}} award for this work.{{Sfn|Fliedl|1994|pp=37–39}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=1890-04-27 |title=ANNO, Die Presse, 1890-04-27, Seite 13 |url=https://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?apm=0&aid=apr&datum=18900427&seite=13&query=%22Gustav+Klimt%22 |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=anno.onb.ac.at |language=de}}</ref> Klimt also became an honorary member of the [[University of Munich]] and the [[University of Vienna]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

In 1892 the ''Künstlercompagnie'' was seeing great success and moved into a larger studio in the [[Josefstadt|Josefstadt district]]. However later that year Klimt's father died of a [[stroke]]{{Sfn|Bäumer|1986|p=24}} and his brother Ernst died of [[pericarditis]] after a heavy cold. Their deaths deeply affected Klimt and he now assumed financial responsibility for both of their families. Grief may have impacted Klimt's artistic vision as he produced little work during the following few years.{{Sfn|Whitford|1990|pp=45–46}} He would soon he would move towards a new personal style. Characteristic of his style at the end of the 19th century is the inclusion of ''[[Veritas|Nuda Veritas]]'' (''naked truth'') as a symbolic figure in some of his works, including ''[[Ancient Greece]] and [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]'' (1891), ''[[Pallas Athene]]'' (1898) and ''Nuda Veritas'' (1899).<ref>{{Cite web |first=Werner | last=Rosenberger |date=12 May 2012 |title=Gegen Klimt: &quot;Vielen gefallen ist schlimm&quot; |url=https://kurier.at/kultur/gegen-klimt-vielen-gefallen-ist-schlimm/787.186/%5Bnode:path%5D |access-date=27 January 2023 |website=Kurier |language=de}}{{dead link|date=August 2023|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nuda Veritas Jetzt neu präsentiert! |url=https://www.theatermuseum.at/vor-dem-vorhang/ausstellungen/nuda-veritas/ |access-date=27 January 2023 |website=Theatermuseum|language=de}}</ref> Historians believe that Klimt with the ''nuda veritas'' denounced both the policy of the [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburgs]] and Austrian society, which ignored all political and social problems of that time.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Jane |last1=Rogoyska |author-link1=Jane Rogoyska |first2=Patrick |last2=Bade |title=Gustav Klimt |publisher=Parkstone Press International |url=https://lccn.loc.gov/2011024520 |page=30 |date=2011 |isbn=978-1-84484-904-8 |lccn=2011024520 |access-date=9 May 2021}}</ref> In the early 1890s, Klimt met Austrian [[fashion designer]] [[Emilie Louise Flöge]], a sibling of his sister-in-law, who was to be his companion until the end of his life. His painting, [[The Kiss (Klimt)|''The Kiss'']] (1907–08), is thought to be an image of them as lovers which was painted five years after Klimt's 1902 full-length portrait of her. He designed many costumes that she produced and modelled in his works.

During this period{{Which|date=May 2025}}, Klimt fathered at least fourteen children.<ref>{{Cite book |first=John |last=Collins |title=Klimt: Modernism in the Making |publisher=Harry N. Abrams |year=2001 |page=[https://archive.org/details/gustavklimtmoder0000klim/page/99 99] |isbn=978-0-8109-3524-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/gustavklimtmoder0000klim/ | editor= Colin M. Bailey | type = Exhibition catalogue | url-access= registration | chapter= Catalogue: Paintings }}</ref>