Klimt

Discover the dazzling and sensual work of Gustav Klimt , the Austrian Symbolist painter who polarized the art world with his combination of decorative finesse and erotic thrills. From landscape paintings to dazzling depictions of the female body, the founding member of the Vienna Secession continues to captivate with his works of mosaic patterns, sinuous forms, and brilliant colors.

The timeless popularity of Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) testifies not only to the particular charm of his sumptuous painting, but also to the universal power of the themes he addressed: love, female beauty, aging and death.

The son of a goldsmith, Klimt created ornate, jewel-like surfaces, influenced by both Egyptian and Japanese art. Through paintings, murals, and friezes, his style is defined by radiant colors, flowing lines, floral elements, and mosaic-like patterns.

With subjects ranging from sensuality and desire to anxiety and despair, all this iridescence is always imbued with emotion. The numerous depictions of women—curvy bodies, soft skin, red lips, and flushed cheeks—were particularly charged with passion, at a time when such explicit eroticism was still taboo among the Viennese upper class.

This volume presents a selection of Klimt's works, introducing his visual world of decoration and desire, and his influence on artists of subsequent generations.

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