Gustav Klimt was born July 14, 1862 in a suburb of Vienna. As Klimt's father was a goldsmith/engraver and mother once a singer, one can assume that he was born into a creative household. At the age of 14 he entered, along with his brothers, the Vienna School of Arts & Crafts. The school gave him a solid education in all the techniques of art.

While still attending the school Klimt and his brother Ernst as well a good friend Franz Matsch joined together to work as decorative painters for an architectural firm. The firms main business was with theatres, so Klimt was doing a lot of work inspired by acting, drama and the theatre. Klimt at that time painted in a sort of historical form, representing the history of drama by using classical and ancient mythology allegories. Even at that time his work was very symbolic.

Although Klimt was to have many changes in his style of art throughout his life, his work always remained deeply symbolic. The symbolicness of his work was often very complex as well, it needs great deal of thought to understand sometimes.

By the time Klimt was 30 years old he was a successful painter. Mostly everyone loved him. His art still remained in acceptable boundaries. What work he was doing until this time that was rebellious to the acceptable norms was still subtle enough not to create any great controversies. Gustav Klimt had a harsh blow to his soul (as would anyone else) when in 1892 his father died, then in December of that same year the brother that he was very close to, Ernst Klimt, died as well. Also the confirmation of an appointment at the Academy of Fine Arts that was hoped for, was still not confirmed by 1893. Klimt around this time became reclusive, not much really is known of what he was thinking at the time, but any one with any sensitivity should be able to understand he was in mourning.

So many of Klimt's works can be considered his key works, so I have only chosen a few works to talk about that appealed to me.

"Left figure group: the Awakening to Life,
Fertility, the Departure of from Life.
On the right: The Globe, the Mystery of the
World, and a figure emerging from
light, Knowledge"

In a lot of Klimt's work, man's mortality is featured. Because of this and I think a lot of people also thought Klimt was thinking something similar at the time. I am reminded of the famous phrase 'Life's a bitch, And then you die'

'Goldfish' - This delightful painting was going to called 'To my critics'. After the controversies over 'Philosophy, 'Medicine' and other works of his that disturbed some people because of the sexuality that is expressed by the female figures. Also it was quite clear by then, that he was not going to get the Professorship at Academy of Fine Arts. All this because so many people with power did not appreciate his explorations into art. So one could say the girl in the foreground is mooning the critics. Her pose is suggestive of young woman who is comfortable with her nakedness and one can imagine that she is teasing a priest, just for the fun of embarrassing someone.

'Jurisprudence' (law) - This work was thoroughly hated by the Powers That Be. I think the critics failed to notice or refused to acknowledge that this was not a painting against them, but for them. 'Jurisprudence' is a reminder to the people who work within the law to always be vigilant against corruption within the law. To remind them that even the law is easily abused. In the painting a man is shown naked and vulnerable within the grasp of an eight legged octopus. I see the octopus as a representation of how corruption reduces the person facing the law to a victim. And the three women around the octopus also represent reasons why corruption can win. The first woman on the left, that appears to be sleeping represents a laziness against vigilance "I can't be bothered to do anything about it, it's too much trouble". The woman in the middle has a stern and arrogant expression on her face, this shows the attitude "I'm always right, and you're wrong". And the third woman is clearly a "What's in it for me" attitude.

As shown by 'Philosophy', 'Goldfish' and 'Jurisprudence' Klimt was a bold and brave artist. He also had an inquiring mind willing to explore new trends in painting and to initiate a few ideas of his own. Klimt was considered the "leader of modern art in Austria" in his time, as said by Dr. Sarmany-Parsons in her book 'Klimt'. Many artists admired him and followed him in his willingness to push the boundaries. Two artists that were inspired by him, even went so far as to push those boundaries even further in their own art, those artists were Schiele and Kokoschka.

Several years before Klimts death, saw a rapid change of art styles. Even Klimt by that time found it hard to keep up with these changes, but I think he can rest assured that he was one of the main initiators that affected the Free Expression (as the companion to free speech) that gained momentum in the 20th century.

Throughout his life, Klimt demonstrated a flexibility in his art. Although he is well known for being part of the secession (art nouveau) movement, he was never a follower of just one style of painting. One could actually say that Klimt tried his hand at every form of 2D art then discovered or invented, from classical to expressive pointillism to abstract (Stocletfreize). But in one form all another there was always some sort of symbol that was in a lot of his great works. Klimt liked his work to mean something, whether it be a point he wants to make or to say "Look at her beauty, it does mean something, its deeper than you think"

Essay by Sonja Blue

Klimt - Schiele - Kokoschka
Editor - Anna Maria Masheroni
Park Lane
London - 1993

Art Nouveau Drawings
Petr Wittlich
Octopus Books Limited
London - 1974

Gustav Klimt Gallery
http://www.magmacom.com/~alexxi/klimt/1klimt.htm