Gustav Klimt: The “Golden Phase”

The Kiss, oil on canvas by Gustav Klimt, 1907–08; in the Österreichische Gallery, Vienna. 180 ×180 cm. (click photo for larger image)One of the best-known works of Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907), went on the block in 2006 and fetched a reported $135 million, a record at the time. (click photo for larger image)Gustav Klimt  (1862-1918) was an Austrian painter, and the founder of the school of painting known as the Vienna Sezession. This group of painters revolted against academic art in favor of a highly decorative style, similar to Art Nouveau. Klimt’s most successful works include The Kiss (1907–08), and a series of portraits of fashionable Viennese women, such as Frau Adele Bloch-Bauer (1907). In these portraits he treats the human figure without the use of shadow, and heightens the lush sensuality of skin by surrounding it with flat, highly decorative, and brilliantly composed areas of decoration. Klimt enjoyed both critical and financial success during this period--dubbed his “Golden Phase” because of the prominent use of gold leaf in the paintings of this time.

Did You Know?

The most expensive painting that ever sold in the history of art is Jackson Pollock's "No. 5, 1948". It sold in a private sale in 2006 for a staggering 140 million dollars, exceeding the sale of Gustav Klimt's 1907 "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I" by around 5 million dollars. Although Pollock enjoyed recognition during his life, he never made much money with his art. And, recognition doesn’t put food on the table.