Life and work of the artist
Gustav was born on July 14, 1862 in Baumgarten. The boy's father was an engraver, and he became his first teacher.
Klimt received his art education in the school of crafts at the museum, after which he became a member of a small group, which, besides him, consisted only of the brother of the young Ernest and the artist Franz Mach. All together, they decorated the Austrian theaters in a modern style, from which Gustav had an addiction to modernism.
Working in the group had a great influence on the subsequent creativity of the beginning artist - he was increasingly moving away from academism. In 1897, Gustav, together with his allies, organized the Vienna Secession and represented new trends in art. Despite the fact that the initiator of the creation of the secession was Klimt, after a while the painter left him because of disagreements and individual vision of art.
With the beginning of the 20th century, Gustav Klimt "opens" on the new side, in his paintings appears gilding. Bright canvases of this period are the "Palace of Athena", "Judith", "Kiss". In addition to gilding, the master increasingly depicts mosaics and details in the Art Nouveau style.
The main characters of Gustav's paintings were women, and often the canvases were of an erotic nature, and the men, occasionally portrayed by the artist, remained in the background.
Klimt was a public figure, so in 1906 he organized the Union of Austrian painters. The main goal of the members of the Union was to help the young talents with an unnoticed society. Eleven years later, the artist becomes truly recognized and known, and also receives the title of professor of the Vienna and Munich Academies.
The most important women in the life of Klimt
Mother of the painter Anna Klimt devoted herself to one of seven children - Gustavu. All their lives they lived together, the woman took care of the appearance and health of her son.
Despite many novels, the artist until the end of his days was tied to a woman - Emilia Flage. They became acquainted thanks to the brother Gustav's union with Emilia's sister.
Reliable information on the relationship of the couple is not preserved, but there are two versions: someone says that the woman was a constant mistress of Klimt, and someone claims that they were connected platonic. Their relationship lasted 27 years, but the painter wrote only two portraits of his beloved.
Gustav Klimt died on February 6, 1918. Eyewitnesses brought to our days information that the artist in a fit of a stroke wanted to see Emilia.