The Lovers

1897–1917

Society portraits of Viennese ladies

Over twenty years Klimt painted nearly twenty society portraits of women, which gave him financial independence; Carl Moll introduced him to many of the sitters, most of them from the Jewish upper bourgeoisie. In the portraits the ladies are hidden in sumptuous clothing, their heads and hands seeming to float detached from reality.

1908–1914

Galerie Miethke: a portfolio of reproductions of Klimt's work

Galerie Miethke, headed by Carl Moll and Klimt's exclusive agent, began after the 1908 Kunstschau to issue a portfolio of reproductions to promote Klimt abroad — five instalments of ten plates each. Klimt chose the works and approved the quality of the reproductions himself; the fifth instalment was never produced.

1911

“Death and Life”: first prize in Rome

At the world exhibition in Rome “Death and Life” won first prize. In 1915 Klimt reworked the painting, changing the gold background to blue.

1911

A studio in Hietzing

Klimt moved his studio closer to nature, to a one-storey house near Schönbrunn Park; he recorded its garden in “The Rose Garden” (1912). Here, among woodcuts, Japanese costumes and samurai armour, he began a new period and worked for the last six years of his life.

1912

Chairman of the Austrian Artists' Union

In 1912 Klimt was elected chairman of the Austrian Artists' Union; in spring 1913 he attended the exhibition in Budapest in that capacity, where ten of his works were shown.

1915

Death of his mother

His mother, Anna Klimt, died; Gustav continued to live on Westbahnstrasse with his two unmarried sisters.