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| Gustav Klimt |
| 1862-1918 |
| European Artist |
| Klimt was born on July 14, 1862 in Vienna-Baumgarten, Austria. Klimt attended the Kunstgewerbeschule des Österreichischen Museums in Vienna (crafts school) until 1883. He was founder of the Vienna Secession, the Austrian Art Nouveau movement. His early work, consisting principally of large murals for theaters, was painted in an unremarkable naturalistic style. After 1898, Klimt's work moved toward greater innovation and imagination, taking on a more decorative, symbolic aspect. He continued to paint murals, but the harsh public criticism of the three murals Philosophy, Medicine, and Jurisprudence led him to concentrate on panel painting. Klimt's best-known works are his later portraits, such as Frau Fritsa Reidler, with their flat, unshadowed surfaces, translucent, mosaic colors and forms, and sinuous, curling background lines and patterns. Among his most admired works is the series of mosaic murals in the Palais Stoclet, an opulent private mansion in Brussels. |
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