Gustav Klimt's Life and Works: A 10-Painting Survey

A recent examination of ten artworks by Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) highlights his transition from traditional portraiture to the ornate sensuality characteristic of his Golden Phase. His early piece 'Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona' (1897), which showcases his Viennese training, was displayed at a discriminatory zoo. Acquired by a Jewish family in 1923, it vanished following the Nazi annexation in 1938, only to be rediscovered recently, appraised at $16 million. Klimt was a co-founder of the Vienna Secession in 1897. Among his significant pieces are 'Nuda Veritas' (1899), 'Judith I' (1901), 'The Kiss' (1907–1908), and 'Death and Life' (1910–1916), while 'Medicine', 'Philosophy', and 'Jurisprudence' (1900–1907) were lost to Nazi destruction in 1945.