Gustav Klimt - chosen by HelenaGustav Klimt was born 1862 in Baumgarten, near Vienna in Austria-Hungary, His father, Ernst Klimt the Elder, was a gold engraver. Klimt lived in poverty while attending the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts where he studied architectural painting until 1883. Klimt readily accepted the principles of a conservative training and his early work may be classified as academic. He was one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's primary subject was the female body, and his works are marked by a frank eroticism. In addition to his figurative works, which include allegories and portraits, he painted landscapes. Among the artists of the Vienna Secession, Klimt was the most influenced by Japanese art and its methods. After being criticised for his work on the ceiling of the Great Hall of the University of Vienna, he accepted no more public commissions but achieved a new success with the paintings of his 'golden phase', many of which include gold leaf. He died in 1928.
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