Gustave Klimpt: Golden Boy

You may recognize the close up piece from Oceans 13. It is right behind Terry Benedicts desk. That is gangsta! I know the real Terry Benedict's sister. Yes, I'm dropping names...do ewe you know her? That's what I thought- Anyhow,
I hung a print of his (Klimpt's not Terry's) work for our kitchen. Almost every college student gets a Klimpt book mark or postcard or poster freshman or sophmore year. The gold is so recognizeable. His stuff is on fridges and office desks world wide, but hardly anyone knows his name. He is one of those classic artist that made a great impact and can now even be reguarded almost as pop art and classic style. I looked him up years ago...After reading about him I feel kind of normal. I cut some high lights and tid bits you should know:

Life and work

[edit]Early life & education
Klimt was born in Baumgarten, near Vienna, the second of seven children — three boys and four girls.[2] All three sons displayed artistic talent early on. His father, Ernst Klimt, formerly from Bohemia, was a gold engraver. Ernst married Anna Klimt (née Finster), whose unrealized ambition was to be a musical performer. Klimt lived in poverty for most of his childhood, as work was scarce and the economy difficult for immigrants.
In 1876, Klimt was enrolled in the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts (Kunstgewerbeschule), where he studied until 1883, and received training as an architectural painter. He revered the foremost history painter of the time, Hans Makart. Unlike many young artists, Klimt accepted the principles of conservative Academic training. In 1877 his brother Ernst, who, like his father, would become an engraver, also enrolled in the school. The two brothers and their friend Franz Matsch began working together; by 1880 they had received numerous commissions as a team they called the "Company of Artists". Klimt began his professional career painting interior murals and ceilings in large public buildings on the Ringstraße including a successful series of "Allegories and Emblems".
In 1888, Klimt received the Golden order of Merit from Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria for his contributions to art. He also became an honorary member of the University of Munich and the University of Vienna. In 1892 both Klimt's father and brother Ernst died, and he had to assume financial responsibility for his father's and brother's family. The tragedies affected his artistic vision as well, and soon he would veer toward a new personal style. In the early 1890s, Klimt met Emilie Flöge, who, notwithstanding the artist's relationships with other women, was to be his companion until the end of his life. Whether his relationship with Flöge was sexual or not is debated, but during that period Klimt fathered at least 14 children.[3]
[edit]Vienna secession years


A section of the Beethoven Frieze
Klimt became one of the founding members and president of the Wiener Sezession (Vienna Secession) in 1897 and of the group's periodical Ver Sacrum (Sacred Spring). He remained with the Secession until 1908. The group's goals were to provide exhibitions for unconventional young artists, to bring the best foreign artists works to Vienna, and to publish its own magazine to showcase members' work.[4]The group declared no manifesto and did not set out to encourage any particular style -- Naturalists, Realists, and Symbolists all coexisted. The government supported their efforts and gave them a lease on public land to erect an exhibition hall. The group's symbol was Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of just causes, wisdom, and the arts -- and Klimt painted his radical version in 1898.

I think this man needs a movie...Someone call Ang Lee.