Editing Gustav Klimt

{{Short description|Austrian symbolist painter (1862–1918)}}
{{redirect|Klimt}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}

{{Infobox artist
| name             = Gustav Klimt
| image            = Klimt.jpg
| caption          = Photographic portrait from 1914
| birth_name       = 
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1862|7|14|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Baumgarten, Vienna|Baumgarten]], {{nowrap|[[Austrian Empire]]}}
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1918|2|6|1862|7|14|df=y}}
| death_place      = [[Vienna]], {{nowrap|[[Austria-Hungary]]}}
| partner          = [[Emilie Louise Flöge]]
| field            = [[Painting|Painter]]
| movement         = [[Symbolist painting|Symbolism]], [[Art Nouveau]], [[Vienna Secession]]
| awards           = 
| signature        = Klimt, Gustav Signatur Signatur.jpg
| resting_place    = [[Hietzing Cemetery]], Vienna
| notable_works    = ''[[Judith I]]'', ''[[Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I]]'', ''[[The Kiss (Klimt painting)|The Kiss]]'', ''[[Danaë (Klimt painting)|Danaë]]''
}}

'''Gustav Klimt''' (14 July 1862 – 6 February 1918) was an Austrian [[Symbolist painting|symbolist painter]] and a founding member of the [[Vienna Secession]] movement. His work helped define the [[Art Nouveau]] style in Europe. Klimt is known for his paintings, [[mural]]s, [[sketch (drawing)|sketches]], and other [[objet d'art|objets d'art]]. Klimt's primary subject was the female body,{{Sfn | Fliedl | 1994 | p = 14 | ps =. The most important element of his fame is his reputation as a master of eroticism.}} and his works are marked by a frank [[eroticism]].{{Sfn | Sabarsky | 1983 | p = 18}} Amongst his figurative works, which include allegories and portraits, he painted [[Landscape painting|landscapes]]. He is best known for ''[[The Kiss (Klimt)|The Kiss]]'' and ''[[Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I]].'' Among the artists of the Vienna Secession, Klimt was the most influenced by [[Japanese art]] and its methods.<ref>[[Sotheby's]]: ''[https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/gilded-romance-gustav-klimts-ornamental-style-and-the-influence-of-japonisme Gilded Romance: Gustav Klimt's Ornamental Style and the Influence of Japonisme]'', 19 June 2019</ref>

Early in his career, he was a successful painter of architectural decorations in a conventional manner. As he began to develop a more personal style, his work was the subject of controversy that culminated when the paintings he completed around 1900 for the ceiling of the [[Klimt University of Vienna Ceiling Paintings|Great Hall]] of the [[University of Vienna]] were criticized as [[Pornography|pornographic]]. He subsequently accepted no more public commissions, but achieved a new success with the paintings of his "golden phase", many of which include [[gold leaf]]. Klimt's work was an important influence on his younger peer [[Egon Schiele]].

Klimt died in 1918, having suffered from a [[stroke]] and [[pneumonia]]. Since his death, Klimt's paintings have brought some of the highest prices recorded for individual works of art at auction.

==Biography==

===Early life===

Gustav Klimt was born in [[Baumgarten, Vienna|Baumgarten]], near [[Vienna]] in the [[Austrian Empire]] on 14 July 1862. He was the second of seven children: three boys and four girls. His mother, Anna Klimt (''née'' Finster), had an unrealized ambition to be a musical performer. His father, Ernst Klimt the Elder, was a gold [[engraver]] formerly from a peasant family in [[Bohemia]].{{Sfn|Fliedl|1994|p=29}}{{Sfn | Sabarsky | 1983 | p = 7}} All three of their sons, including Klimt's younger brothers [[Ernst Klimt|Ernst]] and {{Interlanguage link|Georg Klimt|lt=Georg|de}}, displayed artistic talent early on. Klimt's siblings occasionally acted as models for his early works.{{Sfn|Bäumer|1986|p=23}}

Klimt's father often struggled to find work and Klimt lived in [[poverty]] while growing up. Between 1862 and 1884 the family had no fewer than 5 different addresses, forced to move in search of cheaper accommodation. The family's struggles worsened in 1874 when five-year-old Anna died after a long illness. Around the same time, Klara, the eldest child, became [[mentally disturbed]] and obsessed with religion. She never recovered, and their mother is believed to have suffered frequent, deep [[Depression (mood)|depression]]s.{{Sfn|Whitford|1990|pp=24–25}}

Klimt received a basic education at an ordinary ''Bürgerschule'', where his drawing ability was recognised as remarkable.{{Sfn|Whitford|1990|p=25}} At the age of fourteen, he was accepted into the Vienna [[Kunstgewerbeschule]], a school of [[Applied arts|applied arts and crafts]], now the [[University of Applied Arts Vienna]], where he studied [[architectural painting]] from 1876 until 1883.<ref>Bailey, Colin B., Peter Vergo, Emily Braun, Jane Kallir, and John Collins (2001). ''Gustav Klimt: Modernism in the Making''. New York: Abrams. p. 55. {{ISBN|0888847181}}.</ref>{{Sfn | Sabarsky | 1983 | p = 7}} He studied under [[Ferdinand Laufberger]] and later [[Julius Victor Berger]] after Laufberger's death in 1881. Klimt revered Vienna's foremost history painter of the time, [[Hans Makart]], and aspired to replicate his success.{{Sfn|Whitford|1990|pp=31–37}} Klimt readily accepted the principles of conservative training; his early work may be classified as academic.{{Sfn | Sabarsky | 1983 | p = 7}} Klimt began his professional career with minor commissions, painting interior murals and ceilings in large public buildings on the [[Ringstrasse]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2025|reason=No doubt this is true but a firm mention would be nice instead of  "a number of minor projects" (Whitford 1990)}} 

=== 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>

===Vienna Secession years===
[[File:Gustav Klimt 014.jpg|thumb|A section of the ''[[Beethoven Frieze]]'', at [[Secession hall (Austria)|Secession Building]], [[Vienna]] (1902)|273x273px]]In 1894, Klimt was commissioned to create three paintings, known as the ''[[Klimt University of Vienna Ceiling Paintings|Faculty Paintings]],'' to decorate the ceiling of the Great Hall of the University of Vienna. Not completed until the turn of the century, his three paintings, ''Philosophy'', ''Medicine'', and ''Jurisprudence'' were criticized for their radical themes and material, and were called "[[pornography|pornographic]]".{{Sfn | Sabarsky | 1983 | p = 9}} Klimt had transformed traditional [[allegory]] and symbolism into a new language that was more overtly sexual and hence more disturbing to some.{{Sfn | Sabarsky | 1983 | p = 9}} The public outcry came from all quarters—political, aesthetic and religious. As a result, the paintings were not displayed on the ceiling of the Great Hall.<ref>On 11 November 1905, the artistic commission of the ministry of education examined the projects for the panels of the University' Great Hall. The Klimt's ones were welcomed, unlike Matsch's. However, it was proposed not to exhibit them in the Great Hall, but in the [[Österreichische Galerie Belvedere|Österreichische Galerie]]. Klimt rejected the proposal and on 3 April 1905 he wrote to the aforementioned ministry renouncing the assignment, and asking for the return of the sketches, declaring himself willing to return the sum of money that had been advanced to him. In: {{Cite book |last=Dobai |first=Johannes |title=The Complete Works of Klimt |date=1978 |publisher=Rizzoli |location=Milan |page=86 |language=it}}</ref> This was to be the last public commission accepted by the artist. All three paintings were destroyed when retreating German forces burned [[Schloss Immendorf]] in May 1945,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rogoyska |first1=Jane |last2=Bade |first2=Patrick |title=Gustav Klimt |date=2011 |publisher=Parkstone Press International |location=New York |isbn=978-1-78042-729-4 |page=87 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F3b0asmVCtAC&q=Philosophy%2C%20Medicine%2C%20and%20Jurisprudence%20klimt%20ss&pg=PA87 |chapter=Compositional Project for Medicine}}</ref><ref name="SchlossImmendorf">{{cite web | last=Jones | first=Jonathan | title=Jonathan Jones: Klimt's dazzling demons | website=the Guardian | date=2008-05-07 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/may/07/art | access-date=2025-03-27}}</ref> together with another ten paintings, including ''[[Schubert at the Piano]]'', ''Girlfriends'' (or ''Two Women Friends''), ''Wally'' (portrait), ''The Music (II)''.<ref name="Johannes1">Johannes Dobai ''The Complete Works of Klimt'', Rizzoli 1978. pp. 94–110.</ref><ref>According to Storkovich, in reality the alleged burned paintings were ten, not thirteen, as ''Prozession der Toten'' (Procession of the dead, 1903), ''[[Malcesine]] am Gardasee'' (1913) and ''[[Bad Gastein|Gastein]]'' (1917), never came to Immendorf. Furthermore, she believes there is no convincing evidence that Klimt's three university ceiling paintings were actually destroyed. {{Cite web |title=Verbrannte Klimtbilder: Das Puzzle von Immendorf Storkovich |trans-title=The Burned Klimt Paintings: The Puzzle about Immendorf |last=Storkovich |first=Tina Marie |url=http://diepresse.com/home/spectrum/zeichenderzeit/4890667/Verbrannte-Klimtbilder_Das-Puzzle-von-Immendorf |website=Die Presse |date=18 December 2015 |access-date=4 July 2023 |language=de}}</ref>

Klimt became one of the founding members and president of the ''[[Vienna Secession|Wiener Secession]]'' in 1897 and of the group's periodical, ''[[Ver Sacrum (magazine)|Ver Sacrum]]'' ("Sacred Spring"). He remained with the ''Secession'' until 1908. The goals of the group were to provide exhibitions for unconventional young artists, to bring the works of the best foreign artists to Vienna, and to publish its own magazine to showcase the work of members.{{Sfn|Whitford|1990|p=69}} The group declared no [[manifesto]] and did not set out to encourage any particular style—[[Naturalist school of painting|Naturalists]], [[Realism (arts)|Realists]], and [[Symbolist painting|Symbolists]] all coexisted. The government supported their efforts and gave them a lease on public land to erect an [[Secession Building|exhibition hall]]. The group's symbol was [[Pallas Athena]], the [[Greek mythology|Greek]] goddess of just causes, wisdom, and the arts—of whom Klimt painted his radical version in 1898.<ref name="PallasAthene">{{cite web | title=Pallas Athene, 1898 by Gustav Klimt | website=Gustav Klimt | url=https://www.gustav-klimt.com/Pallas-Athene.jsp | access-date=2025-03-27}}</ref>

His ''Nuda Veritas'' (1899) defined his bid to further "shake up" the establishment.<ref name="Klimt Nuda Veritas 1899">{{cite web |url=http://www.klimt.com/en/gallery/early-works/klimt-nuda-veritas-1899.ihtml |series=Gustav Klimt Painting |title= Early Works / Nuda Veritas 1899 |work= Klimt Gallery |publisher= Klimt Museum |access-date=5 July 2013}}</ref> The starkly naked red-headed woman holds the mirror of truth, while above her is a quotation by [[Friedrich Schiller]] in stylized lettering: "If you cannot please everyone with your deeds and your art, please only a few. To please many is bad."{{Sfn | Whitford | 1990 | p = 52}} In 1902, animated by resentment Klimt wanted to title the painting ''Gold Fish'' (in which a naked woman ostentatiously and maliciously shows her butt), "To my critics", but was dissuaded by friends.<ref name="Johannes1" />

In 1902, Klimt finished the ''[[Beethoven Frieze]]'' for the Fourteenth Vienna Secessionist Exhibition, which was intended to be a celebration of the composer and featured a monumental [[polychrome]] sculpture by [[Max Klinger]]. Intended for the exhibition only, the frieze was painted directly on the walls with light materials. After the exhibition the painting was preserved, although it was not displayed again until restored in 1986. The face on the Beethoven portrait resembled the composer and [[Vienna State Opera|Vienna Court Opera]] director [[Gustav Mahler]].<ref>Johnson, Julian, ''Mahler's Voices: Expression and Irony in the Songs and Symphonies''. Oxford University Press (Oxford, UK), {{ISBN|978-0-19-537239-7}}, p. 235 (2009).</ref>

In 1905, dissensions within the ''Secession'' increased, and when the artistic consultant of the [[Galerie Miethke|Galerie Mietkhe]] [[Carl Moll]] was attacked by colleagues of the ''Secession'' for his work, a strong controversy arose which created a real internal split, led by Klimt. The following year, Klimt formed the group called "[[Kunstschau Wien 1908|Kunstschau]]" (Art Show) or "Klimt group", which also included Moll and [[Otto Wagner]], among other important Austrian artists.<ref>Johannes Dobai ''The Complete Works of Klimt'', Rizzoli 1978. p. 86.</ref>

During this period Klimt did not confine himself to public commissions. Beginning in the late 1890s he took annual summer holidays with the Flöge family on the shores of [[Attersee (lake)|Attersee]] and painted many of his landscapes there, such as ''[[Schloss by the Water]]''. These landscapes constitute the only genre aside from [[figure painting]] that seriously interested Klimt. In recognition of his intensity, the locals called him ''Waldschrat'' ("forest demon").<ref>{{Citation |last=Koja |first=Stephan |others=et al |title=Gustav Klimt Landscapes |page=27 |publisher=Prestel |year=2002}}</ref>

Klimt's Attersee paintings are of sufficient number and quality to merit a separate appreciation. Formally, the landscapes are characterized by the same refinement of design and emphatic patterning as the figural pieces. Deep space in the Attersee works is flattened so efficiently to a single plane that it is believed that Klimt painted them by using a telescope.<ref>{{Citation |first=Anselm |last=Wagner |chapter=Klimt's Landscapes and the Telescope |title=Gustav Klimt Landscapes |pages=161–71 |publisher=Prestel |year=2002}}</ref>

===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>

===Final years and death===

In 1911 his painting ''[[Death and Life]]'' received first prize in the [[International Exhibition of Art (1911)|world exhibitions]] in Rome. In 1915 Anna, his mother, died. Klimt died three years later in Vienna on 6 February 1918, having suffered a [[stroke]] and [[pneumonia]] brought about by the [[Spanish flu]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iklimt.com/ |title=Timeline and life history |work=iKlimt |access-date=14 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |first=Gilles |last=Neret |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4BdP26ptKcUC |title=Gustav Klimt: 1862–1918 |publisher=[[Taschen]] |year=1999 |page=84 |isbn=3-8228-5980-X}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |first=Alessandra |last=Comini |title=Gustav Klimt |publisher=George Braziller |year=2001 |page=[https://archive.org/details/gustavklimt0000klim_p9e9/page/5 5] |isbn=0-8076-0806-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/gustavklimt0000klim_p9e9/page/5}}</ref> He was buried at the [[Hietzing Cemetery]] in [[Hietzing]], Vienna.{{Sfn|Bäumer|1986|p=28}} Numerous paintings by him were left [[unfinished creative work|unfinished]].

==Folios==
===Gustav Klimt: ''Das Werk''===
[[File:Preparatory design - Klimt - Stoclet Palace.jpg|thumb|Klimt often used decorative patterns in his paintings. ''Die Umarmung'' ("The Embrace"), the [[Stoclet Palace]] in [[Brussels]] (1905–1909)|321x321px]]
The only folio set produced in Klimt's lifetime, ''Das Werk Gustav Klimts'', was published initially by [[Hugo Othmar Miethke]] (of [[Galerie Miethke]], Klimt's exclusive gallery in Vienna) from 1908 to 1914 in an edition of 300, supervised personally by the artist. The first thirty-five editions (I-XXXV) each included an original drawing by Klimt, and the next thirty-five editions (XXXVI–LXX) each with a facsimile signature on the title page.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://new.liveauctioneers.com/item/25083387 |title=Das Werk von Gustav Klimt |work=liveauctioneers |access-date=14 January 2017}}</ref> Fifty images depicting Klimt's most important paintings (1893–1913) were reproduced using [[collotype]] lithography and mounted on a heavy, cream-colored [[wove paper]] with [[deckle edge]]s. Thirty-one of the images (ten of which are multi-coloured) are printed on ''[[Chine-collé]]''. The remaining nineteen are high-quality [[halftones|halftone]] prints. Each piece was marked with a unique signet—designed by Klimt—which was impressed into the wove paper in gold metallic ink. The prints were issued in groups of ten to subscribers, in unbound black paper folders [[Paper embossing|embossed]] with Klimt's name. Because of the delicate nature of [[collotype]] [[lithography]], as well as the necessity for multi-coloured prints (a feat difficult to reproduce with collotypes), and Klimt's own desire for perfection, the series that was published in mid-1908 was not completed until 1914.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.1stdibs.co.uk/art/prints-works-on-paper/figurative-prints-works-on-paper/gustav-klimt-kk-hof-und-staatsdruckerei-ho-miethke-das-werk-folio-three-ages-woman-collotype-print/id-a_2051753/ |title=''Das werk Gustav Klimts'' |publisher=1stDibs |access-date=16 December 2019}}</ref>

Each of the fifty prints was categorized among five themes:
# '''Allegorical''' (which included multi-coloured prints of ''The Golden Knight'', 1903 and ''The Virgin'', {{Circa|1912}})
# '''Erotic-Symbolist''' (''Water Serpents I'' and ''[[Water Serpents II]]'', both c. 1907–08 and ''The Kiss'', c. 1908)
# '''Landscapes''' (''Farm Garden with Sunflowers'', 1907) 
# '''Mythical or Biblical''' (''Pallas Athena'', 1898; ''Judith and The Head of Holofernes'', 1901; and ''Danaë'', c. 1908)
# '''Portraits''' (''Emilie Flöge'', 1902)

The monochrome collotypes as well as the halftone works were printed with a variety of coloured inks ranging from sepia to blue and green. Emperor [[Franz Joseph I of Austria]] was the first to purchase a folio set of ''Das Werk Gustav Klimts'' in 1908.

===''Fünfundzwanzig Handzeichnungen - "Twenty-five Drawings"''===
''Fünfundzwanzig Handzeichnungen'' ("Twenty-five Drawings") was released the year after Klimt's death. Many of the drawings in the collection were erotic in nature and just as polarizing as his painted works. Published in Vienna in 1919 by Gilhofer & Ranschburg, the edition of 500 features twenty-five monochrome and two-colour collotype reproductions, nearly indistinguishable from the original works. While the set was released a year after Klimt's death, some art historians suspect he was involved with production planning because of the meticulous nature of the printing (Klimt had overseen the production of the plates for ''Das Werk Gustav Klimts'', making sure each one was to his exact specifications, a level of quality carried through similarly in ''Fünfundzwanzig Handzeichnungen''). The first ten editions also each contained an original Klimt drawing.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.1stdibs.co.uk/art/prints-works-on-paper/figurative-prints-works-on-paper/gustav-klimt-kk-hof-und-staatsdruckerei-ho-miethke-das-werk-folio-three-ages-woman-collotype-print/id-a_2051753/ |title=Gustav Klimts: Fünfundzwanzig Handzeichnungen |publisher=1stDibs |access-date=16 December 2019 | type=auction listing}}</ref>

Many of the works contained in this volume depict erotic scenes of nude women, some of whom are masturbating alone or are coupled in [[sapphic love|sapphic]] embraces.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Néret |first1=Gilles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2rAASKPFnaoC&q=Gustav%2520Klimt%2C%2520lesbians&pg=PA47 |title=Gustav Klimt: 1862–1918  |date=2000 |publisher=Taschen |isbn=978-3-8228-5980-3 |language=en}}</ref>{{Sfn|Fliedl|1997|p=192}} When a number of the original drawings were exhibited to the public, at Galerie Miethke in 1910 and the International Exhibition of Prints and Drawings in Vienna in 1913, they were met by critics and viewers who were hostile towards Klimt's contemporary perspective. There was an audience for Klimt's erotic drawings, however, and fifteen of his drawings were selected by Viennese poet [[Franz Blei]] for his translation of Hellenistic satirist [[Lucian]]'s ''Dialogues of the Courtesans''. The book, limited to 450 copies, provided Klimt with the opportunity to show these more lurid depictions of women and avoided censorship thanks to an audience composed of a small group of (mostly male) affluent patrons.

===''Gustav Klimt An Aftermath''===
Composed in 1931 by editor Max Eisler and printed by the Austrian State Printing Office, ''Gustav Klimt An Aftermath'' was intended to complete the lifetime folio ''Das Werk Gustav Klimts''. The folio contains thirty coloured [[collotypes]] (fourteen of which are multi-coloured) and follows a similar format found in ''Das Werk Gustav Klimts'', replacing the unique Klimt-designed signets with gold-debossed plate numbers. One hundred and fifty sets were produced in English, with twenty of them (Nos. I–XX) presented as a "gala edition" bound in gilt [[leather]]. The set contains detailed images from previously released works (Hygeia from the University Mural ''Medicine'', 1901; a section of the third University Mural ''Jurisprudence'', 1903), as well as the unfinished paintings (''Adam and Eve'', ''Bridal Progress'').

==Selected works==

=== Paintings ===
{{main|List of paintings by Gustav Klimt}}
<gallery class="center" widths="200" heights="140" mode="packed">
File:Klimt - Pallas Athene.jpeg|''[[Pallas Athena (Klimt)|Pallas Athena]]'', 1898, Vienna Museum
File:Gustav Klimt 058.jpg|Portrait of ''Sonja Knips'', 1898
File:Klimtmedicinephoto.jpg|''[[Klimt University of Vienna Ceiling Paintings|Medicine]]'', c. 1899–1907. Destroyed 1945
File:Gustav Klimt 039.jpg|''[[Judith I]]'', 1901, [[Österreichische Galerie Belvedere|Belvedere]]
File:The Three Ages of Woman.jpg|''[[The Three Ages of Woman (Klimt)|The Three Ages of Woman]]'' 1905, [[Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna]]
File:Gustav Klimt 052.jpg|''Portrait of Fritza Riedler'', 1906, [[Österreichische Galerie Belvedere|Belvedere]]
File:Klimt - Danae - 1907-08.jpeg|''[[Danaë (Klimt)|Danaë]]'', 1907, Private Collection, Vienna
File:Gustav Klimt - Hope, II - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[Hope II]],'' 1907–08, [[Museum of Modern Art]]
File:Gustav Klimt 068.jpg|''Avenue in Schloss Kammer Park'', 1912, [[Österreichische Galerie Belvedere|Belvedere]]
File:KlimtDieJungfrau.jpg|''[[The Maiden (Klimt)|The Maiden]]'', 1913, [[National Gallery Prague]]
File:Gustav Klimt 021.jpg|''Girlfriends'' or ''Two Women Friends'', 1916–17, [[Friedrich Welz|Galerie Welz]]. Destroyed 1945
File:Gustav Klimt - Dame mit Fächer.jpeg|''[[Lady with a Fan (Klimt)|Lady with a Fan]]'', c. 1917–18, Klimt's last painting
</gallery>

=== Drawings ===
[[File:Gustav Klimt - Rosebushes under the Trees - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''Rosebushes under the Trees'', c. 1905]]
[[File:Klimt - Oberösterreichisches Bauernhaus.jpeg|thumb|''Oberösterreichisches Bauernhaus'', 1911]]In 1963, the [[Albertina]] museum in Vienna began researching the drawings of Gustav Klimt. The research project ''Gustav Klimt. Die Zeichnungen'', has since been associated with intensive exhibition and publication activities.

Between 1980 and 1984 [[Alice Strobl]] published the three-volume catalogue raisonné, which records and describes all drawings by Gustav Klimt known at the time in chronological order. An additional supplementary volume was published in 1989. In the following year Strobl transferred her work to the art historian and curator [[Marian Bisanz-Prakken]], who had assisted her since 1975 in the determination and classification of the works and who continues the research project to this day. Since 1990, Marian Bisanz-Prakken has redefined, documented, and scientifically processed around 400 further drawings.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gustav Klimt. Die Zeichnungen |trans-title=Gustav Klimt. The Drawings |url=https://www.albertina.at/forschung/zeichnung-druckgrafik/projekte/gustav-klimt-die-zeichnungen/ |access-date=17 June 2019 |language=de}}</ref>

This makes the Albertina Vienna the only institution in the world that has been examining and scientifically classifying the artist's works for half a century. The research project now includes information on over 4,300 works by Gustav Klimt.

<gallery widths="200" heights="200" perrow="5">
File:GUGG Two Female Nudes Standing.jpg|''Two Female Nudes Standing'', c. 1900, [[Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum]]
File:GUGG Girl Seated in a Chair.jpg|''Girl Seated in a Chair'', 1904, [[Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum]]
File:Gustav Klimt, Portrait of a Woman, c. 1910, NGA 48302.jpg|''Portrait of a Woman'', c. 1910, [[National Gallery of Art]]
File:Klimt Mulher sentada.jpg|''Seated woman masturbating'', 1913
File:Gustav Klimt's Curled up Girl on Bed.jpg|Curled up Girl on Bed, The National Gallery of Art. (ca. 1916–1917)
</gallery>

==Legacy==

===Posthumous auction history===
{{Update|part=section|date=May 2025|reason=Paragraph on sale of ''Prince William Nil Nortey Dowuona'' (1897) needs updating}}[[File:Klimt-Villa 2013 Atelier 02.jpg|thumb|Klimt's reconstructed studio (2013) at the [[Klimt Villa]]. On display are copies of the paintings ''Woman with Fan'' and ''The Bride'' (both c. 1917–18)]]
Klimt's paintings have brought some of the highest prices recorded for individual works of art. In November 2003, Klimt's ''Landhaus am Attersee'' sold for [[United States dollar|$]]29,128,000,<ref>{{Citation |first=Nina |last=Siegal |url=http://dks.thing.net/NS-KlimtSetsRecord.html |title=Klimt sets record |publisher=Thing |newspaper=Bloomberg |date=6 November 2003 |access-date=4 February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060504024626/http://dks.thing.net/NS-KlimtSetsRecord.html |archive-date=4 May 2006}}.</ref> but that sale was soon eclipsed by prices paid for Willem de Kooning's ''Woman III'' and later Klimt's own ''[[Adele Bloch-Bauer II]]'', the latter of which sold for $150&nbsp;million in 2016. More frequently than paintings, however, the artist's works on paper can be found on the art market. The art market database [[Artprice]] lists 67 auction entries for paintings, but 1564 for drawings and watercolours.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.artprice.com/artist/15495/gustav-klimt |title=Gustav Klimt on Artprice |website=www.artprice.com |access-date=30 January 2019}}</ref> The most expensive drawing sold so far was "Reclining Female Nude Facing Left", which was made between 1914 and 1915 and sold in London in 2008 for {{GBP|505,250}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2008/impressionist-modern-works-on-paper-l08009/lot.108.html |title=Gustav Klimt Auction at Sotheby's |website=www.sothebys.com |access-date=30 January 2019}}</ref> However, the majority of the art trade traditionally takes place privately<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/23/arts/global-art-market.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/23/arts/global-art-market.html |archive-date=2 January 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=Global Art Market |newspaper=The New York Times |date=23 March 2017 |access-date=30 January 2019 |last1=Reyburn |first1=Scott}}{{cbignore}}</ref> through galleries such as Wienerroither & Kohlbacher, which specialize in the trade with original works by Gustav Klimt and [[Egon Schiele]] and regularly present these at monographic exhibitions and international art fairs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/2959580/gustav-klimt-retrospective-at-shepherd-wk-galleries-new-york |title=Gustav Klimt retrospective in New York |website=www.blouinartinfo.com |access-date=30 January 2019 |archive-date=30 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130220948/https://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/2959580/gustav-klimt-retrospective-at-shepherd-wk-galleries-new-york |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.apollo-magazine.com/what-to-look-out-for-at-tefaf-new-york-spring/ |title=Gustav Klimt at TEFAF art fair |website=www.apollo-magazine.com |date=30 April 2018 |access-date=30 January 2019}}</ref>

In 2006, the 1907 portrait, ''[[Adele Bloch-Bauer I]]'', was purchased for the [[Neue Galerie New York]] by [[Ronald Lauder]] reportedly for US$135&nbsp;million, surpassing [[Picasso]]'s 1905 ''[[Garçon à la pipe|Boy With a Pipe]]'' (sold 5 May 2004 for $104&nbsp;million), as the highest reported price ever paid for a painting up to that point.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Adele Bloch-Bauer, Gustav Klimt's 'woman in gold' |url=https://www.christies.com/en/stories/gustav-klimts-woman-in-gold-af6b7e85385e46248b911d4f5533cfde |work=christies.com}}</ref>

On 7 August 2006, [[Christie's]] auction house announced it was handling the sale of the remaining four works by Klimt that were recovered by [[Maria Altmann]] and her co-heirs after their long legal battle against Austria (see ''[[Republic of Austria v. Altmann]]''). Altmann's fight to regain her family's paintings has been the subject of a number of documentary films, including ''Adele's Wish''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.adeleswish.com/ |title=Home |website=Adele's Wish |access-date=24 October 2016}}</ref> Her struggle also became the subject of the dramatic film ''[[Woman in Gold (film)|Woman in Gold]]'', a movie inspired by ''Stealing Klimt'', the documentary featuring Maria Altmann herself.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.stealingklimt.com/ |title=Stealing Klimt |website=www.stealingklimt.com |access-date=24 October 2016}}</ref> The portrait of ''[[Adele Bloch-Bauer II]]'' was sold at auction in November 2006 for $88million, the third-highest-priced piece of art at auction at the time.<ref name="Michaud 2006-11-09">{{Citation |first=Christopher |last=Michaud |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-arts-auction-idUKN0920976420061109 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306153909/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-arts-auction-idUKN0920976420061109 |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 March 2016 |title=Christie's stages record art sale |newspaper=Reuter's |date=9 November 2006 |access-date=3 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="bslaw 2006-11-09">{{cite web |url=http://www.bslaw.net/news/061109.html |title=$496 Million Auction Shatters Record |date=9 November 2006 |last=Vogel |first=Carol |website=bslaw.net |publisher=Burris, Schoenberg & Walden, LLP |location=Los Angeles, US |access-date=3 November 2014}}</ref> ''The Apple Tree I'' (c. 1912) sold for $33million, ''Birch Forest'' (1903) sold for $40.3million,{{Sfn | Kinsella | 2007 | p = 111}} and ''Houses in Unterach on Lake Atter'' (1916) sold for $31million. Collectively, the five restituted paintings netted more than $327million.{{Sfn | Kinsella | 2007 | p = 112}}  The painting ''Litzlberg am Attersee'' was auctioned for $40.4million in November 2011.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/arts/04iht-Melikian04.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/arts/04iht-Melikian04.html |archive-date=2 January 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=Klimt Painting Sells for $40.4 Million |work=[[The New York Times]] |author=[[Souren Melikian]] |date=3 November 2011 |access-date=6 July 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Klimt's last painting, ''[[Lady with a Fan (Klimt)|Lady with a Fan]]'' (''Dame mit Fächer'', 1918), was sold by [[Sotheby's]] in London on 27 June 2023 for UK£85.3M (US$108.4) to a Hong Kong collector, the highest-priced artwork ever sold at auction in Europe.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jasmine |last=Andersson |title=Klimt's final portrait sells for record £85.3m |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66036688 |work=BBC News |date=28 June 2023 |accessdate=29 June 2023}}</ref>

[[File:El príncipe Guillermo Nii Nortey Dowuona - Gustav Klimt.jpg|thumb|''Prince William Nil Nortey Dowuona'' (1897)]]

In 2021, the portrait of a young African man ''Prince William Nil Nortey Dowuona'' (1897), which had been lost after the [[World War II|Second World War]], was rediscovered and restored by the Wienerroither & Kohlbacher gallery in Vienna, which is offering it for sale until 25 March 2025 with a starting bid of €15million ($16.4m). The painting has been authenticated by Alfred Weidinger, considered one of the greatest experts on Klimt. The young man in the portrait was a dignitary of the African [[Osu caste system|Osu]] tribe, brought to Vienna as a kind of "anthropological curiosity". The painting remained in Klimt's studio until his death, until it was offered for sale at 15,000 [[Austrian krone|Austrian crowns]] in 1923. It had entered the collection of the Viennese Jew Ernestine Klein by 1928. Klein and her husband Felix also converted Klimt's former studio into a villa. She was forced into exile in 1938, after the Nazi [[Anschluss]].<ref name="Osu#">{{Cite web |title=A Rediscovered Gustav Klimt Portrait of an African Prince Is On Offer at TEFAF Maastricht |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/lost-gustav-klimt-portrait-african-prince-tefaf-maastricht-2621432 |website=artnet.com |access-date=19 March 2025}}</ref> The painting has been subject to a restitution settlement with Ernestine Klein's heirs.<ref name="Osu#" />

===Visual art===
[[File:Gustav Klimt - Beech Grove I - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|Gustav Klimt – ''Beech Grove I'', 1902]]
According to the writer Frank Whitford: "Klimt of course, is an important artist—he's a very ''popular'' artist—but in terms of the history of art, he's a very unimportant artist. Although he sums up so much in his work, about the society in which he found himself—in art historical terms his effect was negligible. So he's an artist really in a cul-de-sac."<ref>Whitford, speaking on ''The Kiss: The Private Life of a Masterpiece'', BBC TV</ref> Klimt's work had a strong influence on the paintings of [[Egon Schiele]], with whom he would collaborate to found the ''Kunsthalle'' (Hall of Art) in 1917, to try to keep local artists from going abroad. Artists who reinterpreted Klimt's work include [[Slovaks|Slovak]] artist [[Rudolf Fila]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Fila interpretatio Klimt |last1=Fila |last2=Michalovič |first1=Rudolf |first2=Peter |publisher=Slovak Art |date=2007 |isbn=9788080852979}}</ref>

===Legacy===
Already during his lifetime, Klimt influenced other artists, such as the Italian [[Liberty style]] artist [[Galileo Chini]] (1873–1956).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sanna |first1=Angela |last2=Farina |first2=Violetta |title=Art Nouveau |language=fr |publisher=Editions Place des Victoires |location=Paris |year=2011 |isbn=978-2-8099-0418-5}}</ref> Klimt was exhibited at the 1910 [[Venice Biennale]]. Chini and [[Vittorio Zecchin]] (1878–1947) created a number of panels in 1914 for the Venice Hotel Terminus called "La Primavera" and "Mille e una notte".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://1995-2015.undo.net/it/mostra/136950|title=Vittorio Zecchin e Galileo Chini Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna Ca' Pesaro Venezia|website=1995-2015.undo.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.finestresullarte.info/opere-e-artisti/vittorio-zecchin-le-mille-e-una-notte-klimt-italiano|title=Dalle Mille e una notte a Venezia: le principesse di Vittorio Zecchin, il Klimt italiano|website=www.finestresullarte.info}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.arte.it/calendario-arte/venezia/mostra-spirito-klimtiano-galileo-chini-vittorio-zecchin-e-la-grande-decorazione-a-venezia-1028|title=Spirito klimtiano: Galileo Chini, Vittorio Zecchin e la grande decorazione a Venezia - Mostra - Venezia - Ca' Pesaro - Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna - Arte.it|first=ARTE it Srl-|last=info@arte.it|website=www.arte.it}}</ref> These were later exhibited in the [[Boncompagni Ludovisi Decorative Art Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://artepiu.info/galileo-chini-primavera/ |title=Galileo Chini il mito della Primavera – Museo Boncompagni Roma |date=17 April 2020}}</ref>

In 1972 the [[Vienna State Opera]] presented a new production of ''[[Salome (opera)|Salome]]'', an opera by [[Oscar Wilde]] and [[Richard Strauss]], in a Klimt-inspired stage setting and costumes by [[Jürgen Rose]]. This production, directed by [[Boleslaw Barlog]] and first conducted by [[Karl Böhm]], became extremely popular and stayed in the repertoire for nearly fifty years. It was shown in 265 performances and went on tour to [[Teatro Comunale, Florence|Florence]], Washington and twice in Japan.<ref>Online-Merker: ''[https://onlinemerker.com/wien-staatsoper-salome-die-letzte-und-die-beste-der-serie/ WIEN/ Staatsoper: SALOME – die letzte und die beste der Serie]'', 25 January 2015</ref><ref>Vienna State Opera, Archive of all Performances: ''[https://archiv.wiener-staatsoper.at/search/work/162/production/176 Salome | Neuproduktion vom 22.12.1972]'', retrieved on 24 August 2023</ref>

In 2006 an Austrian art-house biographical film about his life, ''[[Klimt (film)|Klimt]]'', was released with [[John Malkovich]] in the lead role.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Klimt (2006) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417871/ |website=IMDb}}</ref> In 2008 the [[Couturier]] [[John Galliano]] found inspiration for the [[Christian Dior]] Spring-Summer 2008 [[haute couture]] collection in Klimt's work.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} The 2013 collection of designer [[Alexander McQueen]] was partially inspired by Klimt.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 22, 2012 |title=Alexander McQueen Resort 2013 |url=https://wwd.com/runway/resort-2013/paris/alexander-mcqueen/review/ |access-date=2025-02-18 |website=Women's Wear Daily}}</ref>

Gustav Klimt and his work have been the subjects of many collector coins and medals, such as the 100 Euro [[Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Austria)#2003 coinage|Painting Gold Coin]], issued on 5 November 2003, by the [[Austrian Mint]]. The obverse depicts Klimt in his studio with two unfinished paintings on easels.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://artstoryinamedium.blogspot.com/2009/01/klimt-vs-hayez-kiss.html |title=Klimt vs Hayez "The Kiss" |access-date=25 January 2017}}</ref>
[[File:Friedrich Walker, plaque autochrome-Lumière, Gustav Klimt vers 1910.jpg|thumb|An early colour photo taken of Klimt using [[Autochrome Lumière|Autochrome]] technology, 1910s ]]
[[Tawny Chatmon]], an American photographic artist known for her portraits of Black children overlaid with gold leaf and paint, has sought to place Black figures in glittering gold clothing inspired by Klimt's lavish portraits of white Viennese women.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://collections.artsmia.org/art/137815/gods-gift-tawny-chatmon |title=God's Gift, Tawny Chatmon ^ Minneapolis Institute of Art |website=collections.artsmia.org}}</ref>

Elements of the portrait of ''[[First Lady Michelle Obama (painting)|First Lady Michelle Obama]]'', by [[Amy Sherald]] in 2018, have been noted by art critics to have been influenced by Klimt, in particular the ''[[Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jones |first=Jonathan |date=12 February 2018 |title=Portrait of Obama: 'This will not tell the future ages what made him special' |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/feb/12/kehinde-wiley-portrait-barack-obama-amy-sherald-michelle |access-date=15 February 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> One commentator noted the similarity to fashion designed by Klimt's muse [[Emilie Louise Flöge]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Modern Power Portraits With Some Fashion Notes |url=https://www.irenebrination.com/irenebrination_notes_on_a/2018/02/obamas-portraits.html |access-date=15 February 2023 |website=Irenebrination: Notes on Architecture, Art, Fashion, Fashion Law & Technology}}</ref>

===Commemoration of the 150th anniversary of birth===

The city of [[Vienna]], Austria had many special exhibitions commemorating the 150th anniversary of Klimt's birth in 2012.<ref>Adams, Alexander. "Sheer sensuality: Alexander Adams reports on an exhibition devoted to the drawings of Gustav Klimt—one of a number of shows taking place this year to mark the 150th anniversary of the artist's birth." ''Apollo'', vol. 176, no. 600, July–Aug. 2012, p. 98+.</ref>

[[Google]] commemorated Gustav Klimt with a [[Google doodle]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/logos/2012/klimt12-hp.jpg |title=The Kiss doodle |access-date=19 November 2012}}</ref> celebrating Klimt's painting ''[[The Kiss (Klimt)|The Kiss]]'' on his 150th birthday, 14 July 2012.<ref name="gustav-klimts-150th-birthday">{{cite web |url=https://doodles.google/doodle/gustav-klimts-150th-birthday/ |title=Gustav Klimt's 150th Birthday |date=14 July 2012 |access-date=5 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/google-doodles-gustav-klimts-the-kiss-on-his-150th-birthday/271182-11.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715212454/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/google-doodles-gustav-klimts-the-kiss-on-his-150th-birthday/271182-11.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 July 2012 |title=Google doodles Gustav Klimt's ''The Kiss'' on his 150th birthday |publisher=Ibnlive.in.com |access-date=14 July 2012}}</ref>

In 2012, the Austrian Mint began a five-coin gold series to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Klimt's birth. The first 50 Euro gold coin was issued on 25 January 2012 and featured a portrait of Klimt on the obverse and a portion of his painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer.<ref>Coin Update News [http://news.coinupdate.com/new-austrian-gold-coin-series-klimt-and-his-women-1167/ New Austrian Gold Coin Series "Klimt and His Women"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920101912/http://news.coinupdate.com/new-austrian-gold-coin-series-klimt-and-his-women-1167/ |date=20 September 2012 }} 13 January 2012.</ref>

===Gustav Klimt Foundation===
In 2013, the Gustav Klimt Foundation was set up by Ursula Ucicky, widow of Klimt's illegitimate son [[Gustav Ucicky]], with a mission to "preserve and disseminate Gustav Klimt's legacy." The managing director of the [[Leopold Museum]], Peter Weinhäupl, was appointed as chairman of the foundation. As a reaction, the museum's director [[Tobias G. Natter]] resigned in protest, citing Ucicky's past as a [[Nazi propaganda]] filmmaker.<ref>Julia Michalska (30 October 2013), [http://theartnewspaper.com/articles/Viennas-Leopold-Museum-director-resigns-in-protest/30812 Vienna's Leopold Museum director resigns in protest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101150011/http://theartnewspaper.com/articles/Viennas-Leopold-Museum-director-resigns-in-protest/30812 |date=1 November 2013 }} ''[[The Art Newspaper]]''.</ref>

===Nazi-looted art: restitution and litigation===
In 2000, a government committee recommended that Klimt's ''Lady with Hat and Feather Boa'', in [[Belvedere, Vienna|Belvedere]] Museum in Vienna, be restituted to the heirs of the Jewish family that had owned it before the Nazi Anschluss.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 November 2000 |title=Klimt paintings to return to owner |language=en-GB |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1046974.stm |access-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010208130204/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1046000/1046974.stm |archive-date=8 February 2001 |quote=Two paintings by Gustav Klimt, sold during the Nazi era, should be returned to their rightful heir, an Austrian government committee has recommended. The committee was set up to investigate works of art seized from Austrian Jews by the Nazis. The artworks to be returned include Lady with Hat and Feather Boa, a showpiece of the Austrian State Belvedere Museum in Vienna}}</ref>

[[National Public Radio]] reported on 17 January 2006 that "The [[Austrian National Gallery]] is being compelled by a national arbitration board to return five paintings by Gustav Klimt to a [[Los Angeles]]-based woman, the heir of a Jewish family that had its art stolen by the [[Nazism|Nazis]]. The paintings are estimated to be worth at least $150&nbsp;million."<ref>Burbank, Luke [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5160093 Austria to return paintings to Jewish heir], [[National Public Radio]], 17 January 2006.</ref> This incident, involving [[Maria Altmann]], was subsequently made into the Hollywood movie ''[[Woman in Gold (film)|Woman in Gold]]'', starring [[Helen Mirren]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Gustav Klimt: art's greatest womaniser? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/woman-in-gold/gustav-klimt-art-affairs/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/woman-in-gold/gustav-klimt-art-affairs/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=The Telegraph |access-date=11 December 2019 |date=2 April 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Later that year, the most notable of the five paintings, 1907's ''[[Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I]]'' (also known as “The Woman in Gold”), was sold at auction for $135 million (at the time, the highest price ever paid for a single painting). The winning bidder was art collector [[Ronald Lauder|Ronald S. Lauder]], founder of [[Neue Galerie New York|Neue Galerie]] in New York, where it remains on display.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vogel |first=Carol |date=2006-06-19 |title=Lauder Pays $135 Million, a Record, for a Klimt Portrait |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/19/arts/design/19klim.html |access-date=2024-07-03 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=York |first=Neue Galerie New |title=Neue Galerie New York |url=https://www.neuegalerie.org/womaningold |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=www.neuegalerie.org |language=en}}</ref>

In 2009 the [[Lentos Art Museum]] in [[Linz|Linz, Austria]] restituted Klimt's Portrait of Ria Munk III (Frauenbildnis) to the heirs of [[Aranka Munk]], a Jewish art collector in Vienna who was murdered in the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]]. The looted portrait was of her daughter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) Frauenbildnis (Portrait of Ria Munk III) |url=https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5334971 |website=christies |quote=Provenance. Aranka Munk, Vienna and Bads Aussee, by whom acquired from the artist. Wolfgang Gurlitt, Berlin (see note). Neue Galerie der Stadt (later, Lentos Kunstmuseum), Linz (inv. no. 149), by whom acquired from the above by 1956. Restituted to the heirs of Aranka Munk in June 2009.}}</ref>

In 2021 the [[Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France)|French minister]] of culture announced that the only Klimt in France's national collections was Nazi loot which should be restituted to the heirs of the Jewish family that had been persecuted by Nazis.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Paris |first=Associated Press in |date=16 March 2021 |title=France to return Klimt painting looted by the Nazis in 1938 |url=http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/mar/16/france-to-return-klimt-painting-looted-by-the-nazis-in-1938 |access-date=18 March 2021 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> ''Rosebushes Under the Trees'', painted in 1905, had been owned by Nora Stiasi, who had been forced to sell it before being murdered by the Nazis.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Breeden |first=Aurelien |date=15 March 2021 |title=France to Return Klimt Painting to Rightful Heirs After Nazi-Era Sale |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/15/arts/design/france-klimt-painting-restitution.html |url-status=live |access-date=18 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316021259/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/15/arts/design/france-klimt-painting-restitution.html |archive-date=16 March 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |quote=Stiasny was born in 1898 to a Jewish family in Vienna. The painting was passed on to her from her uncle, Viktor Zuckerkandl, a wealthy steel magnate and art collector who had bought "Rosebushes Under the Trees" in 1911. But after the Nazis annexed Austria, she was forced to sell it in 1938 "for next to nothing" to survive, Bachelot said. Stiasny was deported to Poland in 1942 and died that year, as did her husband and son.}}</ref> It is currently hanging in France's Orsay Museum which purchased it from Swiss art dealer Peter Nathan in 1980.<ref>{{Cite web |title=France to return Klimt painting, which hangs in the Musée d'Orsay, to heirs of Viennese Jewish owner |url=http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/france-to-return-klimt-painting-to-heirs-of-viennese-jewish-owner |access-date=18 March 2021 |website=www.theartnewspaper.com |date=15 March 2021}}</ref>

A similar painting, also painted by Klimt and known as ''Apple Trees II'', which was also Nazi loot, was mistakenly returned to the wrong family by the Austrian authorities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Austria returns wrong Klimt to wrong family |url=http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/austria-returns-wrong-klimt-to-wrong-family |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119065222/https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/austria-returns-wrong-klimt-to-wrong-family |archive-date=19 November 2018 |access-date=18 March 2021 |website=www.theartnewspaper.com |date=13 November 2018}}</ref>

Other Klimts that have been the object of ownership battles owing to a history of Nazi looting include the ''Beethoven Frieze'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=The turbulent history of Klimt's Nazi-seized works |url=https://www.lootedart.com/news.php?r=SVIKS9803291 |access-date=18 March 2021 |website=www.lootedart.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The tortuous story of Gustav Klimt's Nazi-looted, 100-foot-wide Beethoven Frieze uncovered |url=https://www.lootedart.com/news.php?r=T71RYR229051 |access-date=18 March 2021 |website=www.lootedart.com}}</ref> ''Water Snakes II'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Answers Coming to Light for Hidden-Away Klimt Paintings |url=https://www.lootedart.com/news.php?r=QAJLCU258061 |access-date=18 March 2021 |website=www.lootedart.com}}</ref>  ''Blooming Meadow''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cosmetics magnate sued over 'looted' Klimt painting |url=https://www.lootedart.com/news.php?r=MP3BTO774091 |access-date=18 March 2021 |website=www.lootedart.com}}</ref> and ''Portrait of Gertrude Lowe''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Klimt's 'Portrait of Gertrud Loew' to Be Auctioned |url=https://www.lootedart.com/news.php?r=RAB30A698971 |access-date=18 March 2021 |website=www.lootedart.com}}</ref>

In 2023, Ronald S. Lauder agreed to restitute and repurchase Klimt's “The Black Feather Hat,” which had  belonged to Irene Beran, before she fled the Nazis. The painting's provenance was unclear after it left Beran's collection, resurfacing in Stuttgart in connection to the Nazi [[Friedrich Welz]]. Beran's mother and former husband Philip were murdered by the Nazis after being deported to the [[Theresienstadt concentration camp]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ronald S. Lauder Reaches Agreement on Klimt Painting With Jewish Heirs |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/10/arts/design/ronald-lauder-klimt-painting-restitution.htm |website=New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=News Desk |date=2023-02-10 |title=RONALD S. LAUDER, JEWISH HEIRS REACH AGREEMENT ON KLIMT PAINTING |url=https://www.artforum.com/news/ronald-s-lauder-jewish-heirs-reach-agreement-on-klimt-painting-252500/ |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=Artforum |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Bride of the Wind]]'' (biopic)
* [[List of paintings by Gustav Klimt]]
* [[Japonisme]]
* [[Klimt Villa]]
* [[Lost artworks]]
* [[List of Austrian artists and architects]]
* [[List of claims for restitution for Nazi-looted art]]
* [[Klimt University of Vienna Ceiling Paintings]]
* [[Klimt (film)]]
* [[Secession Building]]
* [[Stoclet Frieze]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*[[Tobias G. Natter]], Max Hollein (Eds.): ''Klimt & Rodin: An Artistic Encounter'', DelMonico Books – Prestel Publishing, Munich 2017, {{ISBN|978-3-7913-5708-9}}.
*[[Tobias G. Natter]] (Ed.): ''Gustav Klimt:  The Complete Paintings'', Taschen, Cologne 2012, {{ISBN|978-3836527958}}.
* O'Connor, Anne-Marie (2012). ''The Lady in Gold, The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer'', Alfred A. Knopf, New York, {{ISBN|0-307-26564-1}}.
* [[Tobias G. Natter]], Christoph Grunenberg (Eds.):''Gustav Klimt. Painting, Design and Modern Life'', Tate Publishing, London 2008, {{ISBN|978-1-85437-735-7}}.
* Salfellner, Harald (2018), ''Klimt. An Illustrated Life''.
* The Belvedere Vienna & The Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam (editors) (2023), ''Klimt. Inspired by Van Gogh, Rodin, Matisse...''. Hirmer. {{ISBN|978-3-77743-518-3}}.

=== Inline ===

* {{Citation |last=Bäumer |first=Angelica |title=Gustav Klimt: Women |year=1986 |edition=1st |place=London |publisher=[[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]] |isbn=9780297790310 |translator-last=Ewald |translator-first=Osers}}
* {{Citation |last=Kinsella |first=Eileen |title=Gold Rush |journal=ARTnews |url=https://plone.unige.ch/art-adr/cases-affaires/6-klimt-paintings-2013-maria-altmann-and-austria/artnews-gold-rush-january-2007 |date=January 2007}}.
* {{Citation |last=Fliedl |first=Gottfried |title=Gustav Klimt 1862–1918 The World in Female Form |url=https://www.mt.artacademyplovdiv.com/pdf/Gustav%20Klimt-1862-1918-The%20World%20in%20Female%20Form.pdf |publisher=[[Benedikt Taschen]] |isbn=3822802905 |year=1994}}.
* {{Citation |first=Frank |last=Whitford |title=Klimt |publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]] |isbn=9780500202463 |year=1990}}.
* {{Citation |last=Sabarsky |first=Serge |others=et al |title=Gustav Klimt: Drawings |publisher=[[Moyer Bell]] |year=1983 |isbn=9780918825193}}.

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
*Kallir, Jane, Alfred Weidinger: ''Gustav Klimt. In Search of the Total Artwork''. Prestel, New York 2009, {{ISBN|978-3-7913-4232-0}}
*Kränsel, Nina: ''Gustav Klimt''. Prestel, 2007, {{ISBN|978-3-7913-3779-1}}
*Weidinger, Alfred. ''Klimt. Catalogue Raisonné'', Prestel, New York, 2007, {{ISBN|978-3-7913-3764-7}}
*Czernin, Hubertus: ''Die Fälschung: Der Fall Bloch-Bauer und das Werk Gustav Klimts''. Czernin Verlag, Vienna 2006. {{ISBN|3-7076-0000-9}}
* [[Tobias G. Natter]], Max Hollein (Eds.): ''The Naked Truth: Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka and other Scandals'', Prestel, Munich, 2005, {{ISBN|3-7913-3284-8}}.
* [[Tobias G. Natter]]: ''Die Welt von Klimt, Schiele und Kokoschka. Sammler und Mäzene'', DuMont, Cologne 2003, {{ISBN|3-8321-7258-0}}.
*Schorske, Carl E. "Gustav Klimt: Painting and the Crisis of the Liberal Ego" in ''[[Fin-de-Siècle Vienna: Politics and Culture]]''. Vintage Books, 1981. {{ISBN|0-394-74478-0}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{external media | width = 210px | float = right | headerimage= 
 | video1 =[http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/gustav-klimts-beethoven-frieze.html Gustav Klimt's ''Beethoven Frieze'']
 | video2 =[http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/gustav-klimts-the-kiss.html Gustav Klimt's ''The Kiss'']
 | video3 =[http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/klimt-death-and-life.html Klimt's ''Death and Life'']
 | video4={{YouTube|Tz4dB8KVdzs|''The Magic of Line: Gustav Klimt's Artistic Process''}}, Getty Museum }}
*[http://www.adeleswish.com/ ''Adele's Wish'' Documentary film on the Bloch-Bauer court case (''Republic of Austria v. Altmann'')]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20000830111408/http://www.adele.at/ The Bloch-Bauer court case]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130512234218/http://forward.com/articles/11974/klimt-s-last-retrospective-/ Klimt's Last Retrospective by Monica Strauss]
*{{IMDb title|0417871|Klimt Film}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20190512095115/http://secession.nyarc.org/ "This Kiss to the Whole World" ''Klimt and the Vienna Secession'' (NYARC)]
*[http://www.iklimt.com/ ''Klimt'', The Life and Work of Gustav Klimt]
*[https://artsandculture.google.com/pocketgallery/kAUxTZBD8McZyQ Klimt vs. Klimt: Google's Pocket Gallery], including three paintings colorized by AI, cf. [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/klimt-painting-restore-artificial-intelligence-color-faculty-paintings-180978843/ A.I. Digitally Resurrects Trio of Lost Gustav Klimt Paintings]
*[https://www.neuegalerie.org/klimtlandscapes KLIMT LANDSCAPES], Exhibition at the [[Neue Galerie New York]], February 15 – May 6, 2024.

{{Gustav Klimt}}
{{Vienna Secession}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klimt, Gustav}}
[[Category:Gustav Klimt| ]]
[[Category:1862 births]]
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