Venuša Merkúr

1898

Meets Elsa Asenijeff

He meets the writer and poet Elsa Asenijeff, who becomes his model, muse and girlfriend for fifteen years; they have a daughter in 1900 but never marry.

spring 1902

Klinger’s Beethoven at the Vienna Secession

His “Beethoven”, a sculpture of bronze, ivory, alabaster and several marbles, is the centrepiece of the 14th Vienna Secession exhibition, where Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze is visible in an adjoining room and Gustav Mahler is persuaded to transcribe music from the Ninth Symphony for trumpets. The exhibition causes a scandal: the sculpture is dismissed as kitsch and some are offended by a nude Beethoven, while Rodin is reported to have walked past it without comment, later saying it had nothing to do with sculpture.

1907

An exhibition of his entire oeuvre in Leipzig

For the first time all of Klinger’s works are exhibited together at the Leipzig art museum; the same year he visits Paris and Spain again.

1911

Leaves Asenijeff for Gertrud Bock

He leaves Asenijeff, when her mental health begins to deteriorate, for an 18-year-old model, Gertrud Bock (1893–1932), whom he ultimately marries a few months before his death.

19 October 1919

A stroke

He suffers a stroke, after which he moves his studio to Großjena, where he decides to find his last resting place.

5 July 1920

Death in Großjena

He dies in Großjena, where he made his last resting place; another account gives 4 July. His friend, the sculptor Johannes Hartmann, takes a death mask from his face.