Gustav Klimt

The undoubted influence of Klimt’s elegant, often erotically-charged art, reflecting a certain fin-de-siècle decadence, has not lasted. A reserved man, he didn’t teach, travelled little, and had a small circle of intimates. Moser, Hoffmann and Olbrich were among fellow founding-members of the Vienna Secession (Klimt its first chairman). Klimt’s and Mahler’s lives often ran in parallel and occasionally crossed – he was among those gathered to wave the disillusioned composer off to America. Hoffmann, Schnitzler and Berg were friends (Berg and Schoenberg at his funeral), with Wagner a close friend and collaborator. He supported the younger Schiele, introducing him to patrons.