In 1876, at the age of 14, Gustav Klimt received a scholarship allowing him to study at the School of Applied Arts where he would study decorative and architectural painting until 1883. In the year after he enrolled, his brother Ernst joined him in his studies. 

The education they received provided the brothers and their classmate, Franz Matsch, the foundation needed to begin their partnership known as the Company of Artists. Through this company, the three would take on public commissions. One of Klimt’s most renowned works from this period is The Auditorium of the Old Burgtheater which was commissioned by the city of Vienna in 1887. 

As the title indicates, this painting depicts the auditorium of the former Viennese Burgtheater. An interesting detail to notice is that Klimt portrays the theatre from the perspective of the stage rather than that of the audience. Additionally, many of the audience members in this scene are important political, scientific, artistic and aristocratic social figures of the era, further adding a social layer of realism to the depiction and putting into perspective the artist’s tedious sense of detail. 

In 1897, Klimt, along with 15 others, founded the Vienna Secession after resigning from the Viennese Artist's Association. Klimt was also elected president of the group. They acquired an exhibition space and published a series of illustrated magazines called Ver Sacrum, meaning Sacred Spring in Latin. The title itself alluded to a new generation of artists that would innovate and rebel against traditional artistic boundaries. The Vienna Secession interestingly became its own art movement, though it is somewhat tricky to characterize due to the various art styles practiced within the group; however, its distinct modernity and proximity to art nouveau make it recognizable. 

Another rather important commission is Klimt’s faculty paintings commissioned by the Austrian Ministry of education in 1894. These paintings, located on the ceiling of the Great Festival Hall at the University of Vienna, depict allegorical figures of the university’s four faculties. Seeing as this was a commission for both Gustav Klimt and his colleague Franz Matsch, Klimt only painted three of the four: Philosophy, Medicine, and Jurisprudence.  

As part of Klimt’s Vienna Secession phase, these paintings are significant, as they illustrate Klimt’s growing interest in symbolism, and the development of the Vienna Secession as an art movement. They display themes that would later become common in the artist’s works: eroticism, life, death and feminine beauty. 

However, for this reason he faced much criticism for this series; the public and the press deemed the illustrations as ‘erotic and ugly’ due to the nude figures and symbolist elements. Despite these critiques of the paintings, Klimt received critical acclaim for their philosophical value at the Universal Exposition in Paris. 

Arguably, Klimt’s most famous and celebrated paintings are from his golden phase. This era is characterized by the artist’s use of gold leaf, texture, bright colour and mosaic-like patterns. As described by the artist himself, this decorative work was “probably the ultimate stage of [his] development of ornament”. 

His subjects in these paintings, which were almost always women, would often be adorned in elaborate garments. Prime examples of paintings from this period include The Kiss, Portrait of Adel Bloch-Bauer I, The Tree of Life and Water Snakes I.  

Klimt continued to paint portraits of women until his death in 1918. Towards the 1910s, his portraits remained consistent in regards to intricate detail, extravagant garments and feminine subjects, however they started to include more color and contrast. He also continued to explore themes of eroticism, life, death, beauty, and youth, arguably in a more perceptible manner.  

Perhaps a reflection of his quiet lifestyle, in his later life, Klimt also began to paint more outdoor landscapes. Although these are quite different from his other work, they still contain recognisable stylistic elements such as patterns, gold, flattened compositions, abstraction, and unusual composition. 

Gustav Klimt died of a stroke and pneumonia in the winter of 1918, only three years after his mother, Anna’s death. The painter is said to have lived a rather simple life, devoted to his art and his family. Despite never marrying, he was very sexually active, but kept his affairs secret in order to avoid public scandal. Klimt’s fascination with women and femininity is evident in his art. 

In my opinion, the way in which he depicts femininity and female sexuality as something powerful and almost divine is unlike any artist, especially for his time.   

Overall Gustav Klimt’s stylistic choices and risqué subjects allowed for a lasting impact on the field of contemporary visual arts.