Editing Gustav Klimt (section)

===Golden phase and critical success===
[[File:Gustav Klimt, 1907, Adele Bloch-Bauer I, Neue Galerie New York.jpg|thumb|''[[Adele Bloch-Bauer I]]'' , which sold for a record $135&nbsp;million in 2006, [[Neue Galerie New York|Neue Galerie]], New York (1907)|left|250x250px]]
[[File:The Kiss - Gustav Klimt - Google Cultural Institute.jpg|thumb|left|''[[The Kiss (Klimt painting)|The Kiss]]'', oil on canvas, [[Österreichische Galerie Belvedere]], [[Vienna]] (1907–1908)|251x251px]]
[[File:Egon Schiele - Gustav Klimt im blauen Malerkittel - 1913.jpeg|thumb|''Klimt in a light Blue Smock'' by [[Egon Schiele]], 1913|303x303px]]
From 1900 Gustav Klimt became famous above all as a "painter of women". He created about one large-format portrait of a woman per year, in which he applied the principles of Art Nouveau - flatness, decoration, and gold leaf application. At the same time, he devoted himself to allegories and [[Old Testament]] heroines, which he transformed, however, into dangerous "[[Femme fatale|femmes fatales]]". [[Eros]], sexuality and femininity were variously interpreted by him as alluring danger. Life, love, and death can be determined as the important themes of Klimt's work.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gustav Klimt: Biografie. Lebenslauf und wichtige Werke des Wiener Jugendstilmalers |trans-title=G. Klimt: Biography. Résumé and important works of the Viennese Art Nouveau painter |url=https://artinwords.de/gustav-klimt-lebenslauf-biografie/ |website=artinwords.de |date=30 December 2017 |access-date=24 September 2023 |language=de}}</ref> Klimt's 'Golden Phase' was marked by positive critical reaction and financial success. Many of his paintings from this period included [[gold leaf]]. Klimt had previously used gold in his ''Pallas Athene'' (1898) and ''[[Judith I]]'' (1901), although the works most popularly associated with this period are the ''[[Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I]]'' (1907) and ''[[The Kiss (Klimt painting)|The Kiss]]'' (1907–08).

Klimt travelled all over Europe, mainly to present his works on the occasion of international exhibitions, but trips to Venice and [[Ravenna]], both famous for their beautiful mosaics, most likely inspired his gold technique and his [[Byzantine art|Byzantine imagery]]. In 1904, he collaborated with other artists on the lavish [[Stoclet Palace]], the home of a wealthy Belgian industrialist that was one of the grandest monuments of the [[Art Nouveau]] age. Klimt's contributions to the dining room, including both ''Fulfillment'' and ''Expectation'', were some of his finest decorative works, and as he publicly stated, "probably the ultimate stage of my development of ornament."{{Sfn | Whitford | 1990 | p = 103}}

In 1905, Klimt painted ''[[The Three Ages of Woman (Klimt)|The Three Ages of Woman]]'', depicting the cycle of life. He created a painted [[Margaret Stonborough-Wittgenstein|portrait of Margarete Wittgenstein]], [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]]'s sister, on the occasion of her marriage.<ref>Edmunds, D. and Eidenow, J. ''Wittgenstein's Poker: The Story of a Ten-Minute Argument Between Two Great Philosophers,'' 2001, page 83.</ref> Then, between 1907 and 1909, Klimt painted five canvases of society women wrapped in fur. His apparent love of costume is expressed in the many photographs of Flöge modelling clothing he had designed.

As he worked and relaxed in his home, Klimt normally wore sandals and a long robe with no undergarments. His simple life was somewhat cloistered, devoted to his art, family, and little else except the Secessionist Movement from which he and many colleagues eventually resigned. He avoided [[Viennese coffee house|café society]] and seldom socialized with other artists. Klimt's fame usually brought patrons to his door and he could afford to be highly selective. His painting method was very deliberate and painstaking at times and he required lengthy sittings by his subjects. Although very active sexually, he kept his affairs discreet and he avoided personal scandal.

The artist cultivated close relationships with some of his clients, who were primarily from the assimilated [[History of the Jews in Vienna|Jewish Viennese]] [[Haute bourgeoisie]]. He cultivated intimate relationships, especially with his models from upper-class circles. He was considered progressive for his time, because he allowed women an active role in [[Human sexuality|sexuality]].<ref>{{Cite news |title= Der Meister des gemalten Wahnsinns |trans-title=The master of painted madness |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buecher/biographie-gustav-klimts-zum-hundertsten-todestag-15434006.html |last=Rudolph |first=Katharina |date=6 February 2018 |work=[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]] |access-date=24 September 2023 |language=de}}</ref>

Klimt wrote little about his vision or his methods. He wrote mostly postcards to Flöge and kept no diary. In a rare writing called "Commentary on a non-existent self-portrait", he states "I have never painted a self-portrait. I am less interested in myself as a subject for a painting than I am in other people, above all women... There is nothing special about me. I am a painter who paints day after day from morning to night&nbsp;... Whoever wants to know something about me&nbsp;... ought to look carefully at my pictures."{{Sfn | Whitford | 1990 | p = 18}}

In 1901 [[Hermann Bahr]] wrote, in his ''Speech on Klimt'': "Just as only a lover can reveal to a man what life means to him and develop its innermost significance, I feel the same about these paintings."<ref>{{Citation |first=Dr. Julia |last=Kelly |chapter=Introduction to Payne, L |year=2004 |title=Klimt |publisher=Exclusive Editions |isbn=1-84461-185-X}}</ref>