
Austrian Symbolist painter Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) created some of the most sensual, decorative works in modern art. As a founder and first president of the Vienna Secession in 1897, he led the movement away from academic tradition toward innovative expression. His "Golden Phase" produced iconic works featuring shimmering gold leaf, intricate patterns, and flat decorative planes. Klimt combined Byzantine mosaic influences with contemporary themes, depicting languid women in richly ornamented settings. His painting The Kiss became an emblem of early modernism.
Klimt trained at Vienna's School of Arts and Crafts, initially working as a decorative painter with his brother and colleague. A 1903 trip to Ravenna exposed him to Byzantine mosaics, inspiring his gold leaf technique. His University of Vienna ceiling panels proved so controversial they were never installed. The wealthy Bloch-Bauer family commissioned his famous portraits, including the gold-toned Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, which sold for $135 million in 2006. Klimt's companion Emilie Floge, a fashion designer, modeled for The Kiss. He died during the 1918 flu pandemic. The Belvedere Museum in Vienna holds The Kiss, while the Neue Galerie in New York owns the Adele portrait.
32 paintings catalogued with museum locations

Gustav Klimt
Albertina, Vienna, Vienna

Gustav Klimt
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Vienna

Gustav Klimt
Belvedere Museum, Vienna

Gustav Klimt
Private Collection, Unknown

Gustav Klimt
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Vienna

Gustav Klimt, 1907
Private Collection, Unknown

Gustav Klimt, 1909
MAK Vienna, Vienna

Gustav Klimt, 1907
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Gustav Klimt
Private Collection, Unknown

Gustav Klimt
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford

Gustav Klimt
Vienna Museum, Vienna, Vienna

Gustav Klimt
Private Collection, Unknown

Gustav Klimt
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Vienna

Gustav Klimt
Vienna Museum, Vienna, Vienna

Gustav Klimt
Private Collection, Unknown

Gustav Klimt
Tyrolean State Museum, Innsbruck, Innsbruck

Gustav Klimt
Private Collection, Unknown

Gustav Klimt
Private Collection, Unknown

Gustav Klimt
Private Collection, Unknown

Gustav Klimt
Vienna Museum, Vienna, Vienna

Gustav Klimt
Private Collection, Unknown

Gustav Klimt
Private Collection, Unknown

Gustav Klimt
Vienna Museum, Vienna, Vienna

Gustav Klimt
Private Collection, Unknown

Gustav Klimt
Vienna Museum, Vienna, Vienna

Gustav Klimt
Private Collection, Unknown

Gustav Klimt
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Gustav Klimt
Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, Vienna

Gustav Klimt, 1915
Belvedere Museum, Vienna

Gustav Klimt, 1912
Neue Galerie, New York

Gustav Klimt, 1908
Belvedere Museum, Vienna
Gustav Klimt, 1905
Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome
13 museums display Klimt's works. Click any museum to see visiting info and the specific works they hold.



Unknown, Unknown
12 works on display

New York, USA
1 work on display

Vienna, Austria
1 work on display

Hartford, United States
1 work on display



Vienna, Austria
3 works on display

Vienna, Austria
1 work on display



Vienna, Austria
5 works on display
Rome, Italy
1 work on display



Vienna, Austria
3 works on display

New York, USA
1 work on display

Innsbruck, Austria
1 work on display

Vienna, Austria
1 work on display

Vienna, Austria
1 work on display
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