Artist Introduction: Austrian Art Nouveau Painter, 1862-1918
Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 ?C February 6, 1918) was an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Art Nouveau (Vienna Secession) movement. His major works include paintings, murals, sketches, and other art objects, many of which are on display in the Vienna Secession gallery. Klimt's primary subject was the female body, and his works are marked by a frank eroticism--nowhere is this more apparent than in his numerous drawings in pencil.
Klimt's work is distinguished by the elegant gold or coloured decoration, often of a phallic shape that conceals the more erotic positions of the drawings upon which many of his paintings are based. This can be seen in Judith I (1901), and in The Kiss (1907?C1908), and especially in Danaë (1907). One of the most common themes Klimt utilized was that of the dominant woman, the femme fatale. Art historians note an eclectic range of influences contributing to Klimt's distinct style, including Egyptian, Minoan, Classical Greek, and Byzantine inspirations. Klimt was also inspired by the engravings of Albrecht D??rer, late medieval European painting, and Japanese Rimpa school. His mature works are characterized by a rejection of earlier naturalistic styles, and make use of symbols or symbolic elements to convey psychological ideas and emphasize the "freedom" of art from traditional culture.
Artist Introduction: Spanish Painter,
ca.1470-1534
was a High Renaissance painter who was born in the Duchy of Burgundy, probably just before it ceased to exist as an independent state, and was active in Spain from about 1495 to 1534. His earliest documented work was painted in 1495 for the cloister of the Cathedral of Toledo. Borgoña??s compositions are well balanced with finely drawn figures in elegant, tranquil poses. They are set either against open spaces leading on to craggy landscapes or against gold embroidered drapery. There were a number of foreign painters active in Spain in this period, including Juan de Flandes. Borgona??s students include Pedro de Cisneros the Elder (died 1546), Antonio de Comontes (ca. 1500-1519),