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Gustav Klimt was born in Baumgarten in 1862, Austrian Empire, to Ernst Klimt the Elder, a gold engraver and Anna Klimt, a music aficionado. He was second of the seven children of the couple.
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he studied architectural painting at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts. During this time, he lived in poverty. He initially began his career painting interior murals and ceilings on large public buildings in Vienna, Austria.
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In 1888, he painted ‘Old Burgtheater in Vienna’, which was a painting of the old theatre that would soon be demolished. The painting was well appreciated for its photographic realism.
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In 1888, he received the ‘Golden Order of Merit’, which was conferred upon him by Franz Josef I of Austria, for his contribution of painting murals in the Burgtheater in Vienna.
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In 1890, he painted, ‘Portrait of pianist Joseph Pembauer’, which, as the title describes, was a portrait of the piano teacher Joseph Pembauer. The painting was appreciated for its vivid and detailed pragmatism.
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In 1894, he was commissioned to adorn the ceiling of the Great Hall of the University of Vienna - a project that he could complete only by 1900. However, the three paintings that he had produced, Philosophy, Medicine and Jurisprudence were sharply criticized for their radical themes and eventually destroyed.
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In 1897, he founded an association for artists called, ‘The Vienna Secession’. He served as its first President. The association also had its own magazine, ‘Ver Sacrum’. His liaison with the association lasted until 1908.
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In 1899, he painted, ‘NudaVeritas’, which was a symbolic painting of a nude woman holding a mirror.
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In 1901, he completed the painting, ‘Judith and the Head of Holofernes’, also known as ‘Judith’. The work was inspired from the biblical character with the name, Judith.
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Klimt painted the Beethoven Frieze for the 14th Vienna Secessionist exhibition in celebration of the composer, and featured a monumental polychrome sculpture by Max Klinger. Meant for the exhibition only, the frieze was painted directly on the walls with light materials. The Beethoven Frieze is on permanent display in the Vienna Secession Building in a specially built, climate-controlled basement room.
The frieze is large, standing at 7 feet high with a width of 112 feet. -
Between 1907 and 1908, he worked on his painting, ‘The Kiss’, which is one of the many paintings that he released during his ‘Golden Phase’. A squared canvas with images of two lovers embracing each other, the painting became one of his most acclaimed works.
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Painted in 1907, his painting, ‘Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I’, is one of his most revered paintings. It was sold for $135 million to businessman Ronald Steven Laude in 2006.
