Gustav Klimt

Gustave Klimt was an Austrian painter during the Vienna Secession Movement, a movement inspired by the idea of creating art that wasn't inspired by his historical influences or constrained by academic institutions. Aside from paint landscapes and female figures, Klimt also made sculptors, sketched, and painted murals. His pieces with female figures most usually had an erotic undertone. Born unto a gold engraver, Klimt lived in poverty as a child. In his teens Klimt received a scholarship to attend art school, where he studied architectural painting for 7 years. Upon graduating, Klimt took up mural painting with his brother and friend, beginning his professional career. Shortly after his brother and father died and Klimt was left to take on the financial responsibility of their families. Klimt would later become one of the founding members of the Vienna Secession, a movement inspired for unconventional artists. Klimt was commissioned to paint three pieces on the ceiling of the Great Hall in the University of Vienna. Upon painting, he was criticized for his erotic and sexual themes, his pieces were considered to be "pornographic". The three painting were later destroyed by SS in 1945. After the public outcry and his "radical" pieces Klimt would never accept another commission to paint publicly. Klimt's next artistic transformation was classified as the "golden phase". During this personal movement, Klimt used gold leaf in many of his pictures. These works were marked with positive public approval. Like many artists, much if Klimt's fame came posthumously. Following are a few of Klimt's pieces:

Although Klimt was one of the founders of the Vienna Secession movement, his pieces reflect a range of historical influences- Byzantine, Classical Greek, Egyptian, and Minoan. Through extracting inspirations from each of these influences, Klimt developed a unique and profound style, affecting future art and artists forever.