Gustav Klimt, Gold in Motion

GUSTAV KLIMT, GOLD IN MOTION:

In the unparalleled cultural and intellectual ferment of late 19th century Vienna, an imperial capital whose atmosphere has been characterized as “a nervous splendor,” Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) began his career as one of the painters decorating the sumptuous public buildings on the city’s grandest boulevard, the Ringstrasse. As the new century dawned, however, Klimt began daring to express himself in a more personal and often erotic style, ultimately becoming the leader of the Vienna Secession, a movement that broke from the conventions of academic art and paved the way toward modern painting. Gustav Klimt: Gold in Motion takes its title from the gold leaf and decorative patterns that characterize his most popular and radical masterpieces, including symbolic works such as The Kiss (1907-08) and portraits such as Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907).

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