Gustav Klimt. The Complete Paintings

Over a century after his death, Viennese artist Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) still startles with his unabashed eroticism, dazzling surfaces, and artistic experimentation. This monograph gathers all of ** Klimt's major works** alongside authoritative art historical commentary and privileged ** access to the artist's archive**.

With top quality illustration, including ** new photography of the celebrated Stoclet Frieze,** the book follows Klimt through his prominent role in the ** Secessionist movement** of 1897, his candid rendering of the female body, and his ** lustrous "golden phase"** 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.

Through luminous spreads and ** carefully curated details**, the monograph traces the repertoire of ** Japanese, Byzantine, and allegorical stimuli** that informed Klimt's flattened perspectives, his symbolic vocabulary, and his mosaic-like textures. Drawing upon contemporary critics and voices, the book also examines ** the art world's polarized reception to Klimt's pictures** as much as his own stylistic trajectory. From his landscape painting to erotic works to the ** controversial ceiling for the Great Hall of the University of Vienna,** 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.