Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) was an Austrian painter known for his symbolist style of painting. He worked to help support young artists in Vienna through the Vienna Secession movement and strove to make Vienna a global hub for art. His paintings are well known and have gone for some of the highest prices ever at auctions (millions!).
Klimt is most well known for his "golden phase" where he included gold leaf in his paintings. He had the luxury of becoming a famous artist in his lifetime, which allowed him to pick and choose which private commissions (works of art) he wanted to produce. The 2015 movie Woman in Gold, starring Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds was based around one of his paintings stolen by the Nazis during the Second World War. |