Biography
1862 - 1890
Early life and education
Gustav Klimt was born in Baumgarten, near Vienna in Austria-Hungary, the second of seven children - three boys and four girls. All three sons displayed artistic talent early on. Klimt's younger brothers were Ernst Klimt and Georg Klimt. His father, Ernst Klimt the Elder, formerly from Bohemia, was a gold engraver. Ernst married Anna Klimt (née Finster), whose unrealized ambition was to be a musical performer. Klimt lived in poverty for most of his childhood, as work was scarce and economic advancement was difficult for immigrants.
In 1876, Klimt was awarded a scholarship to the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts (Kunstgewerbeschule), where he studied until 1883, and received training as an architectural painter. He revered the foremost history painter of the time, Hans Makart. Klimt readily accepted the principles of a conservative training; his early work may be classified as academic. In 1877 his brother Ernst, who, like his father, would become an engraver, also enrolled in the school. The two brothers and their friend Franz Matsch began working together; by 1880 they had received numerous commissions as a team they called the "Company of Artists", and helped their teacher in painting murals in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Klimt began his professional career painting interior murals and ceilings in large public buildings on the Ringstraße including a successful series of "Allegories and Emblems".
In 1888, Klimt received the Golden order of Merit from Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria for his contributions to murals painted in the Burgtheater in Vienna. He also became an honorary member of the University of Munich and the University of Vienna. In 1892 both Klimt's father and brother Ernst died, and he had to assume financial responsibility for his father's and brother's families. The tragedies affected his artistic vision as well, and soon he would veer toward a new personal style. In the early 1890s, Klimt met Emilie Flöge, who, notwithstanding the artist's relationships with other women, was to be his companion until the end of his life. Whether his relationship with Flöge was sexual or not is debated, but during that period Klimt fathered at least 14 children.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Gustav Klimt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Klimt , which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (view authors).
References
"The most important element of his fame is his reputation as a master of eroticism". Fleidel, Gottfried: "Gustav Klimt 1862-1918 The World in Female Form.", p. 14. Benedikt Taschen, 1994.
Sabarsky, Serge, et al., Gustav Klimt: Drawings, p. 18. Moyer Bell Limited, 1983. ISBN 0-918825-19-9
Fliedl, Gottfried, page 230, 1994.
Sabarsky, p. 7.
John Collins, Klimt: Modernism In The Making, Harry N. Abrams, 2001, p.99, ISBN 978-0-8109-3524-2
Frank Whitford, Klimt, Thames and Hudson, 1990. p.69.
Sabarsky, p. 9.
Jones , Jonathan (May 6, 2008). "Klimt's Dazzling demons". The Guardian. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
SheilaTGTG55 (October 13, 2011). "The Fire At Schloss Immendorf". Open Salon. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
Frank Whitford Klimt, Thames and Hudson, 1990, p.52.
http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2011/04/looted_klimt_-_the_mahler_conn.html
In recognition of his intensity, the locals called him "Waldschrat", Forest Demon. Koja, Stephan, et al.: Gustav Klimt Landscapes, page 27. Prestel, 2002.
Anselm Wagner: "Klimt's Landscapes and the Telescope", Gustav Klimt Landscapes, pages 161-171. Prestel, 2002.
Frank Whitford Klimt, Thames and Hudson, 1990, p.103
Frank Whitford Klimt, Thames and Hudson, 1990, p.18
see timeline and life history Retrieved December 12, 2010
Gilles Neret, Gustav Klimt: 1862-1918, Taschen, 1999, p.84. ISBN 3-8228-5980-X
Alessandra Comini, Gustav Klimt, George Braziller, 2001, p.5. ISBN 0-8076-0806-8
Nina Siegal, DKS.thing.net, Retrieved February 4, 2007.
Christopher Michaud, Christie's stages record art sale, Reuter's, November 9, 2006. Retrieved November 9, 2006.
Kinsella, Eileen: "Gold Rush", Artnews, page 111. January 2007.
Kinsella, Eileen, page 112, January 2007.
http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2011/11/someone-just-paid-40-million-for-mahlers-summer-home.html
Lamp.ac.uk
Ibiblio.org
ECFS.org
Whitford, speaking on The Kiss: The Private Life of a Masterpiece, BBC TV
Burbank, Luke Austria to return paintings to Jewish heir, National Public Radio, 17 January 2006.
"cartea romaneasca / catalog / carte". Cartearomaneasca.ro. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
Coin Update New Austrian Gold Coin Series “Klimt and His Women” 13 January 2012.
Sources
Hubertus Czernin Die Fälschung: Der Fall Bloch-Bauer und das Werk Gustav Klimts. Czernin Verlag, Vienna 2006. ISBN 3-7076-0000-9 Carl E. Schorske "Gustav Klimt: Painting and the Crisis of the Liberal Ego" in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna: Politics and Culture. Vintage Books, 1981. ISBN 0-394-74478-0 Jane Kallir, Alfred Weidinger: Gustav Klimt. In Search of the Total Artwork. Prestel, New York 2009, ISBN 978-3-7913-4232-0 Julio Vives Chillida. El Beso (Los Enamorados) de Gustav Klimt. Un Ensayo de Iconografía, Lulu.com, junio de 2008, ISBN 978-1-4092-0530-2. Gilles Neret. Gustav Klimt: 1862-1918. Taschen, 1993, 2005. ISBN 978-3-8228-5980-3 Alfred Weidinger. Klimt. Catalogue Raisonné, Prestel, New York, 2007, ISBN 978-3-7913-3764-7
Pictures between 1862 and 1890
