Author Description

<p>Over a century after his death, Viennese artist <b>Gustav Klimt</b> (1862-1918) still startles with his unabashed eroticism, dazzling surfaces, and artistic experimentation. This monograph gathers all of <b>Klimt's major works</b> alongside authoritative art historical commentary and privileged <b>access to the artist's archive</b>.<br> <br> With top quality illustration, including <b>new photography of the celebrated Stoclet Frieze,</b> the book follows Klimt through his prominent role in the <b>Secessionist movement</b> of 1897, his candid rendering of the female body, and his <b>lustrous "golden phase"</b> when gold leaf brought a shimmering tone and texture to such beloved works as The Kiss and Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, also known as The Woman in Gold.<br> <br> Through luminous spreads and <b>carefully curated details</b>, the monograph traces the repertoire of <b>Japanese, Byzantine, and allegorical stimuli</b> that informed Klimt's flattened perspectives, his symbolic vocabulary, and his mosaic-like textures. Drawing upon contemporary critics and voices, the book also examines <b>the art world's polarized reception to Klimt's pictures</b> as much as his own stylistic trajectory. From his landscape painting to erotic works to the <b>controversial ceiling for the Great Hall of the University of Vienna,</b> we see how Klimt's admixture of tradition and daring divided the press and public-becried by some as a pornographer, hailed by others as a modern maestro.</p>