Vienna Celebrates Anniversary

On the 150th anniversary of the birth of Gustav Klimt, one of the world’s most renowned artists, Vienna is taking the chance to celebrate one of its most famous sons, and show off the wealth of its cultural heritage. The Belvedere Museum in Vienna continues to hold the world’s largest collection of Klimt artwork.

As the son of a goldsmith, Klimt understood metals like few other artists of his generation. Though he worked with paint, he had a unique ability to create the illusion of precious metals, stones and jewels. He trained at the commercially-minded School of Applied Art, not at Vienna’s fine art academy. He is particularly known for his paintings such as The Kiss, Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer I, Judith and the Head of Holofernes, and Hope II. His work is so well known that even a Barbie has been modelled on the Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer.