Prior to famous artists like Dali, a painter in Austria known as Gustav Klimt founded a movement called “Vienna Secession.”
In 1897, Klimt became the former president of the Vienna movement to bring different forms into art culture.
Being a master of symbolism in art, his paintings depict sexuality and lavishly decorated figures with a message of pleasure and human suffering.
He once quoted, “All art is erotic,” which pretty much explains the Gustav Klimt paintings. Let’s look at some of Gustav Klimt’s facts and learn how he really was.
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Six Facts about Gustav Klimt
- The works by Gustav Klimt were highly influenced by the Art Nouveau movement.
- Klimt, as a painter, mostly used women as his subjects to portray his thoughts.
- Gustav was said to have an intimate relationship with her sister-in-law, Emilie Floge.
- Unlike other artists, Klimt never painted a self-portrait.
- Klimt was a casanova and never married to any women. Although Klimt had 14 children.
- Gustav Klimt’s art is believed to be sold with the highest world record in his time.
What Inspired Gustav Klimt?
Gustav Klimt drew much of his inspiration from modern Japanese erotic art and incorporated it into his works.
But do you know what inspired Klimt the most in Japanese art?
The patterns of sensual and spiritual art that show rich symbolism in colors were something that captivated Klimt’s eyes.
Now that you know some interesting facts about Klimt, why not learn more about erotic ideas through the paintings by Gustav Klimt?
Here, we’ve talked extensively about the ten paintings by Gustav Klimt, whose backgrounds tell a different tale.
10. The Maiden
Image: wikimedia.org
In the early period, numerous paintings of women produced considering the main subject in art.
In the paintings by Gustav Klimt, the artist portrayed women in different shapes and colors.
This portrait depicts the dreamy sensuality of a young girl in a creative state.
With the sleeping girl in the center who is fantasizing about the possibilities for herself.
We know obsession of painter Gustav Klimt with painting women and creating illusions from a woman’s perspective.
Keeping in mind that Gustav Klimt was a symbolist artist, here the bunch of flowers indicates the rise of womanhood.
9. The Tree of Life
If you observe the art of Gustav Klimt, you can tell that he always painted in a vertical style.
The only painting by Gustav Klimt created in the landscape genre during his prime is “The Tree of Life.”
The quality catches the attention of the viewer, who spends more time in order to extract the real meaning behind the Gustav Klimt artworks.
Being a symbolist painter, Gustav’s artwork signifies the connection between earth and heaven, which represents wisdom, vision, protection, and power.
The story behind this amazing artwork was to create a series of three mosaics indicating what a tree represents in people’s lives.
8. Judith and the Head of Holofernes
The interpretation of this artwork was huge during that period.
The portrait speaks about a woman who knows her capability, power, and strength.
She uses them as sources to overcome men’s assertiveness and destroy her enemies.
Gustav Klimt had several inspirations in his life.
It is believed that this artwork was also inspired by one of his favorites, “The Sin” by Franz Stuck.
Do you know the backstory of this famous piece?
Judith was a biblical woman who seduced Holofernes and beheaded him in order to save her city, Bethulia, from his rule and the Assyrian army.
Judith and the Head of Holofernes is his most famous painting, which gives image to a woman who used her bravery and femininity to tackle the enemies of her city.
7. Three Ages of Women
What are the three stages of womanhood? The infant, motherhood, and old age.
The artwork by Gustav Klimt symbolizes the start and end of a woman’s life and the various stages she goes through.
The painting is all about the transience of living in woman’s life.
The art is based on Auguste Rodin’s sculpture The Old Courtesan, which showcases the old woman, describing that no common man will ever see the beauty that an artist can.
In 1911, the painting received a gold medal at the International Exhibition in Rome.
Suggested Read: Famous Still Life Paintings
6. Water Serpents II
“Water Serpents” consists of two parts, where Gustav places his favorite objects in the water—women.
The paintings by Gustav Klimt show the artist’s obsession with female figures, especially the nude paintings, which have been in art culture for a long time.
He displayed some erotic artwork and female poses in various shapes.
We could even say that the women in his life inspired him, and this inspiration ultimately showed up in his paintings.
One question has yet to be resolved: Why did Klimt use gold?
A trip to Italy motivated Klimt.
He saw the use of gold in patterns to give the pieces of art a unique feel and significance.
This marked the beginning of the gold journey in the paintings by Gustav Klimt.
5. Beethoven Frieze
A chart that shows the journey of man’s happiness to salvation is something “Beethoven Frieze” talks about.
The search for the meaning of life and the barriers that are eventually part of the journey they are going through reveal the hidden truth about how the cycle of life works.
Here, Frieze gives meaning to the characters that serve as good or bad, including the other qualities like death, lust, ambition, greed, and grief.
The reason behind creating this painting was to get it displayed at the exhibition of the Secession movements.
4. Danae
Gustav known for his symbolist artwork, portrays a virtue-filled lady with immense beauty and heavenly love in his paintings.
In his earlier work, Klimt also featured a nude painting in which the model was requested to strike an erotic and revealing pose.
The question here is who Danae was.
King Acrisius’ daughter was named Danae.
He was warned by prophets that his grandson would assassinate him and usurp his kingdom.
Danae was imprisoned for this idea, but after she met Perseus, a boy was ultimately born. And the prophecy came to pass.
Danae is portrayed by Klimt in an unusual manner, in which he gazes at a woman having an erotic dream and being drenched in golden rain.
3. Death and Life
Gustav Klimt’s art always describes a unique and new concept that relates to the human life or body.
“Death and Life” is another famous painting by Gustav Klimt that showcases life through all generations.
If you look closely, you’ll get a clear picture of a never-ending cycle of life, where death can be of an individual but humanity as a whole can never die.
An acceptance of morality is seen in the picture instead of being threatened with death.
Do you know how much a Klimt painting is worth?
All the paintings by Gustav Klimt are worth more than 100 million dollars, which is huge and remarkable.
(Also Read: The deep analysis about the painting Lady Godiva)
2. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I
In the world, there are numerous paintings that are produced, but only a few get the highest bid!
This is one of the most expensive paintings that captures the viewer’s attention, and has always been unique in its own way.
Klimt painted “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I,” which holds the record for the most expensive painting and was sold for 132 million dollars. It’s huge!
But what is more interesting are the thoughts and inspirations behind the paintings by Gustav Klimt.
The artist Gustav Klimt was commissioned by Ferdinand Block Bauer.
This painting is the portrait of Ferdinand’s wife, Adele, who died prematurely.
The use of gold is mostly seen in this paintings by Gustav Klimt, where he has worked on the portrait with golden effects.
1. The Kiss
The famous Gustav Klimt painting that received the most attention and was frequently reproduced is “The Kiss.”
The symbol of affection, spirituality, and erotic love, which was created when Klimt was at his lowest point in life.
The story that this artwork depicts is the relationship between him and Emilie, which was portrayed with the thought of them as lovers.
But there are some other realities that highlight this piece of art in an engrossing way:
- The paintings of Gustav Klimt were said to be pornographic artwork although no ounce of the body was shown in the painting.
- This piece is said to be unfinished artwork of Klimt’s as it was sold before it could be completed.
- It was the final painting from his golden period during which he used the gold leaf in the artwork.
- Klimt once said, “There is no self-portrait of me,” but “The Kiss” was said to be first Gustav Klimt portraits that include him with his lover although Gustav himself did not consider it as a self portrait.
Who owns Gustav Klimt’s painting The Kiss?
The painting is owned by the Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere, which is housed in Austria, his native country.
Final Note
Do you know how many paintings Gustav Klimt produced?
Well, there are more than 200 paintings, of which some were destroyed during the Nazis invasion.
The paintings by Gustav Klimt tell us about his sensuality, fantasies, and subconscious mind that relate him to the world of art.
During the 20th century, there were numerous famous painters who changed the history of art.
Klimt was one of the most prolific painters in erotic art culture, which led to most of his works being classified as controversial.
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FAQs
“The Kiss” is the most famous painting that by Gustav Klimt which is oil and gold leaf artwork on canvas.
Gustav has painted 200 paintings in his entire career in which he has incorporated different forms of female figures.
Gustav Klimt is famous because of the depiction of female body that gives out a sense of sexuality and pleasure.
The art style that Klimt used in his artworks are Art Nouveau, Modern art, Vienna Secession, and Symbolism.
