Biography
He enrolled at Vienna's School of Applied Arts at fourteen, trained as an architectural decorator, and spent his twenties painting ceilings in theatres and public buildings. His father and brother Ernst died in 1892[10]. Over the following years his work moved away from conventional academic decoration.
In 1897[10], Klimt co-founded the Vienna Secession with a group of artists who had decided the local art establishment was suffocating. He became its first president. In 1900 he exhibited Philosophy, one of three ceiling panels commissioned for the University of Vienna. The faculty called it pornographic. Philosophy showed tangled nude bodies drifting through space, which was not what the university had ordered. He painted the other two panels anyway. The protests ran for years. He eventually returned the fee and kept the paintings.
The gold period included Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907[10]) and The Kiss (1908–09). His 1903 visit to the Byzantine mosaics at Ravenna helped shape his use of gold and ornament. The portraits of wealthy Viennese women, flat and ornamental and strangely confrontational, became the work people remember.
Klimt died in Vienna on 6 February 1918[10], aged fifty-five, after a stroke and pneumonia. The Kiss is held at the Belvedere in Vienna. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I is permanently displayed at Neue Galerie New York. These works belong to separate collections, and their histories are part of understanding the paintings today.
Timeline
- 1862Born on 14 July in Baumgarten, a suburb of Vienna, the second of seven children. His father was a gold engraver of Bohemian peasant origin.
- 1876Won a scholarship to the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts at 14, where he studied architectural painting for seven years.
- 1892Both his father and brother Ernst died within months of each other. Aged 30, he began to reject academic naturalism for a more personal, symbolist style.
- 1897Co-founded the Vienna Secession and became its first president. The group broke from the conservative Vienna Artists’ Association.
- 1908Presented The Kiss at the Kunstschau in Vienna. The Austrian state acquired it for the Moderne Galerie; the Belvedere dates the painting to 1908–09.
- 1918Suffered a stroke on 11 January and developed pneumonia in hospital. He died in Vienna on 6 February, aged 55.
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Notable Works
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Where to See Gustav Klimt
26 museums worldwide.
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43 worksBelvedere
Vienna, Austria
Daily 09:00-18:00 · €23 adults
Vienna's Belvedere holds 43 Klimt works, the strongest concentration anywhere. The Kiss (1907) from his Golden Phase hangs here, as does Judith I (1901), the first of his biblical femmes fatales. Both entered the collection soon after they left his studio.
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9 worksVienna Museum
Vienna, Austria
The Wien Museum at Karlsplatz owns nine Klimts drawn from the city's own commissions and civic gifts. Its strength lies in early allegorical drawings and portrait studies, the preparatory material behind the gilded paintings now kept a short walk away at the Belvedere.
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8 worksLeopold Museum
Vienna, Austria
Wed–Mon 10:00–18:00, closed Tuesdays
Vienna's Leopold Museum, built around Rudolf Leopold's private collection of Austrian modernism, holds eight Klimts inside the MuseumsQuartier. Death and Life (1910), his allegorical confrontation of the two, is the centrepiece, with Danaë (1907) giving the golden myth its most sensual Austrian reading.
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11 worksNational Gallery of Art
Washington D.C., United States
Mon–Sat 10:00–17:00, Sun 11:00–18:00 · Free
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7 worksNeue Galerie
New York City, United States
Mon, Wed–Sun 10:00–18:00, closed Tuesdays · $28 adults
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5 works
Kunsthistorisches Museum
Vienna, Austria
Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00 (Thu until 21:00); closed Mon (open Mon Jun–Aug) · €21 adults, free under-19
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See all Gustav Klimt prints →Frequently Asked Questions
How did gustav klimt die?
Gustav Klimt died in Vienna on 6 February 1918[10], aged 55. He had suffered a stroke on 11 January and developed pneumonia in hospital.What is gustav klimt best known for?
Gustav Klimt was fascinated by feminine seductiveness, which he glorified with dazzling clothing and settings in a hymn to beauty. He was an acclaimed artist and enjoyed the recognition of the value of his painting as an interpreter of Viennese magnificence.What is Gustav Klimt's most famous work?
What style or movement did Gustav Klimt belong to?
Klimt was a leading painter of Viennese Modernism and a co-founder of the Vienna Secession. His work is associated with Jugendstil and Symbolism[10]. The gold-leaf paintings belong to one phase of a career that also included landscapes and architectural decoration.Where can i see gustav klimt paintings?
The Belvedere in Vienna holds The Kiss and other paintings by Klimt. Neue Galerie New York permanently displays Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. The Leopold Museum in Vienna also holds important paintings and drawings. Check individual museums for current displays and access.Where can I see Gustav Klimt's work?
The Belvedere in Vienna holds The Kiss and other paintings by Klimt. Neue Galerie New York permanently displays Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. The Leopold Museum in Vienna also holds important paintings and drawings. Check individual museums for current displays and access.Who was gustav klimt inspired by?
Klimt studied work by artists including Monet, Van Gogh, Rodin and Matisse. Exhibitions in Vienna and travel brought him into contact with new approaches to colour and form. Byzantine mosaics at Ravenna also influenced his use of gold.Why did gustav klimt create the tree of life?
The Tree of Life is the central panel for Gustav Klimt’s mural at the Palais Stoclet in Brussels. The private mansion was built by the architect Josef Hoffmann between 1905[10] and 1911 for the banker and industrialist Adolphe Stoclet; the interior was decorated with marble panelling and artworks, including friezes by Klimt.Why did gustav klimt use gold?
Gold was a material Klimt used to turn parts of a painting into flat ornamental surfaces. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I combines oil paint with gold and silver. His visit to the Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna in 1903[10] helped shape this approach.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Gustav Klimt.
- [1] museum Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien Used for: museum holdings.
- [2] museum National Gallery Prague Used for: museum holdings.
- [3] museum Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna Used for: museum holdings.
- [4] museum Lentos Art Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [5] museum University of Vienna Used for: museum holdings.
- [6] museum Kunsthaus Zug Used for: museum holdings.
- [7] academic Gustav Klimt Used for: biography.
- [8] academic Gustav Klimt Used for: biography.
- [9] wikidata Wikidata: Q34661 Used for: identifiers.
- [10] wikipedia Wikipedia: Gustav Klimt Used for: biography, birth dates, death dates, identifiers, movement attribution, nationality.
- [11] book Susie Hodge, Art Used for: biography.
- [12] book Susie Hodge, Art: Everything You Need to Know About the Greatest Artists and Their Work Used for: biography.
- [13] book Gustav Klimt, Federico Zeri, Marco Dolcetta, Klimt, Gustav, Klimt_ Judith I (One Hundred Paintings Series) Used for: biography.
- [14] museum Belvedere: Klimt. Inspired by Van Gogh, Rodin, Matisse Used for: biography.
- [15] museum Belvedere: The Kiss and Viennese Modernism Used for: museum holdings.
- [16] museum Belvedere: Who Was Gustav Klimt? Used for: biography.
- [17] museum Gustav Klimt Used for: museum holdings.
- [18] museum Gustav Klimt. Hope, II. 1907-08 Used for: notable works.
- [19] museum Klimt’s last studio: People in Klimt’s Life Used for: biography.
- [20] museum Gustav Klimt, Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000) Used for: museum holdings.
- [21] museum Neue Galerie New York: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I Used for: museum holdings.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-10-07. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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