On July 14, 1862, one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, who developed his own eclectic and often fantastic style, Gustav Klimt was born. The Austrian was originally a successful academic painter. But then, he met more modern trends in European art.
As the founder of modernity, Klimt often shocked the unorthodox themes of his works and innovative painting techniques. He was recognized as one of the most iconic figures in the arts, and his works are included in almost every collection of the best paintings of all time.
Gustav Klimt is an internationally recognized master of depicting the female body. The artist won scandalous fame for his works saturated with undisguised eroticism.
But outrageousness did not become an obstacle to fame, which Klimt was favored in abundance during his lifetime. Representatives of European Art Nouveau consider Klimt to be the founder of the trend. Today the master’s paintings are sold for fabulous money.
The first works of Klimt, which brought him scandalous fame, were decorative. In 1894 he received an order for 3 paintings for the ceiling of the assembly hall of the University of Vienna, which he finished 6 years later. The presentation of the paintings to the public turned into a scandal.
The outraged conservative citizens called the work pornography and called for the artist to be imprisoned. Gustav Klimt did not take government orders anymore, but he did not give up painting nude female nature. At the same time, eroticism and sensuality in his canvases did not cross the fine line, beyond which they would turn into vulgarity.
In 1899, Gustav Klimt again caused shock by presenting to the public a canvas entitled The Naked Truth (Nuda Veritas). The symbolic naked red-haired girl with a mirror in her hand personified this very naked truth. The painter responded to a flurry of criticism, as expected from a brilliant brawler, with a new picture with the same shocking character. Called Goldfish, it showed the public the “fifth point” of the same beauty with fiery hair and curvaceous forms.
The most famous paintings of the golden period of the Austrian art nouveau guru are called The Kiss, Naked Truth, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, Water Serpents, Hope, and The Three Ages of a Woman.
Gustav Klimt was the darling of fate. He was extolled during his lifetime. The fashion master was bombarded with orders that were generously paid. He could choose topics and plots that seemed interesting. But everywhere an indispensable element was female bodies and undisguised eroticism.
