He painted the grand halls of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before throwing it all aside in pursuit of a far more radical vision.
In this video, we trace the full arc of Klimt's life and work: from his early days as a celebrated architectural muralist, through the founding of the Vienna Secession, to the scandalous university paintings that turned the establishment against him, and the remarkable Golden Phase that produced a new generation of masterpieces.
Creating a visual language unlike anything seen before, Klimt's legacy leaves a vivid, gilded, and unflinching world which has never stopped speaking to us.
