Brief Biography-Gustav Klimt was born in Vienna, the son of a goldsmith. He studied at the Vienna School of Applied Arts with his brother Ernst under the artist Ferdinand Laufberger from 1876 to 1883. Then, with a friend Franz Matsch, the three were commissioned to do murals in the Burgtheater and the Kunsthistorisches Museum, for which Gustav won a Gold Cross of Merit.
In 1897, when he was a member of the conservative Viennese Artist’s Association, he and some colleagues left and formed a group whose work departed from the norm. As a result, they got the name The Secession. During this period, Gustav worked on a commission for Vienna University with the help of Franz Matsch. However, the City Council was unhappy with the works seen as pornographic by many critics; after that, he ceased doing public works.
He became successful in doing portraiture for the Viennese nobility of the day. His portraits were mainly of ladies; however, he never married. His primary relationship was with his sister-in-law Emile Flöge, which lasted for many years. In 1905, the Secession group broke up due to differing tastes; Gustav then applied himself to landscapes and portraiture. One of his major works was the mosaic frieze in the dining hall of the Stoclet Palace in Brussels. He died of a stroke in Vienna in 1918. The younger artis Egon Schiele was highly influenced by Klimt.