Gustav Klimt

Austrian symbolist painter, founder of the Vienna Secession movement, Gustav Klimt is one of my all-time favorites. He brought decoration to the height of fine arts, and left many legacies in Vienna and all around Europe. The elements of eurotism and dreams are heavily influenced by the Austrian psychologist Freud. His paintings also magnified themes such as life and death and pregnancy, which were otherwise suppressed in traditional academism. Klimt's art has in a certain way defined the characteristics and personalities of the entire Austrian nation.