Klimt's Golden Studio

About

Born in Baumgarten, Vienna. Father Ernst was a gold engraver -- that's where the gold came from. Mother Anna wanted to be a musician but poverty killed that dream. I learned to engrave before I learned to paint. I co-founded the Vienna Secession at thirty-five -- we broke away from the academic art establishment. I painted The Kiss, covered in gold leaf, the most reproduced painting of the twentieth century. I painted women -- powerful, erotic, unapologetic. The Austrian establishment called it pornography. I called it truth. I wore a blue smock, never a suit. I ate enormous breakfasts. I had more affairs than paintings. I never wrote about my art. 'If you want to find out about me, look at my paintings.' So look.

Skills

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