Page 40 - YGARTUA: Magnum Opus - volume three
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Gustav Klimt was an Austrian
symbolist painter and one of the most
prominent members of the Vienna
Secession movement. Austrian artist
Gustav Klimt is one of the most celebrated (1907), which sold for a record auction price of
Symbolist artists. Klimt co-founded the more than 100 million dollars in 2006.
Secessionist Movement in 1897. Rejecting
Vienna’s traditionally conservative art scene, “The Kiss” is the final painting of Klimt’s Gold
Klimt and other Secessionists gave Vienna’s Period, during which he incorporated gold leaf
contemporary artists a platform to share their into his works. This practice reflects the strong
work. This liberating movement inspired and influence of the gold-detailed religious art of
allowed Klimt to experiment with his art and the Middle Ages as well as the sacred works
develop a Symbolist style inspired by the Art created by artists of the Byzantine Empire. This
Nouveau and Arts and crafts movements. luminous period lasted about a decade, yet it
His Symbolist pastiches of pale nudes, allegorical has come to characterize Klimt’s style and has
gardens and erotic content served as the basis resulted in some of modern arts most well-
for many American psychedelic poster designs known and valuable paintings.
in the 1960s. Early narrative paintings depicted
heavy subjects such as anxiety, doubt, sexuality, “The central focus is on Klimt, I chose a black
and death, but in later years, he turned toward and white photograph of him from the archives,
landscape painting, exploring light and abstract dated 1902. I decided on this study as he has the
patterns of nature. His most famous paintings are allure of an artist, with a profound expression
The Kiss (1907) and Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer and a touch of craziness which depicts the inner
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