Adele Bloch-Bauer

Klimt Gustav (1862-1918), the most famous Austrian painter. One of the most prominent representatives of the Art Nouveau style. Born on the outskirts of Vienna in the family of an engraving artist. Graduated from the Vienna School of Decorative Arts. The artist's early work consisted mainly of large theater murals and was painted in a naturalistic style. In the paintings depicting allegorical figures, executed by Klimt in 1890-1891 on the vaults of the grand staircase of the Museum of Art History in Vienna, for the first time features that have become basic in his work - a clear silhouette and a penchant for ornamentalism. After 1898, the works of Gustav Klimt take on a more decorative, symbolic aspect.
Gustav Klimt was the leader of the Vienna Avant-garde at the turn of the century. Mainly a decorator, Klimt led the Viennese community of innovative artists Secession, a movement to protest the aesthetic conservatism and moralizing of the previous generation. Klimt's best paintings are considered to be the artist's later portraits, with their flat, unshaded surfaces, transparent, mosaic colors and shapes, and sinuous, ornate lines and patterns. Klimt's paintings combine two opposing forces; on the one hand, it is the thirst for absolute freedom in depicting objects, which leads to the play of ornamental forms. These paintings by the painter are in fact symbolic and should be considered in the context of symbolism as an expression of an unattainable world standing above time and reality. On the other hand, it is the power of perception of nature and nature, the influence of which softens the splendor of ornamentation in the paintings of Gustav Klimt. Among the artist's most delightful works are a panel for the Burgtheater in Vienna (1888), a series of mosaic frescoes at the Pallas Stoclet, an opulent private mansion in Brussels. By the end of his life in 1917, Klimt won full official recognition, becoming an honorary professor at the Vienna and Munich Academy of Fine Arts. Painting by Gustav Klimt "The Kiss". On a flower field, from ornaments and abstract forms, the silhouette of a kissing couple grows. The color of the picture is dominated by a golden tone interspersed with bright spots of wildflowers and a rich pattern of clothes. Sensual lines, lush ornament and spicy color give the stage an erotic character - a symbol of luxury and decadence. This style is often referred to as the Art Nouveau style. Klimt painted a large number of portraits, mostly of women, as well as mythological and allegorical compositions. Gustav Klimt's designs for applied art and mosaics were a huge success, but the wall paintings he created for the University of Vienna caused a scandal and were considered "pornographic" by art critics of the early twentieth century. Gustav Klimt died in 1918.