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Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918) is one of the most famous of modern artists, with several of his paintings and drawings being sold for record prices at the time of sale. He has become known mostly for his “gold” paintings and his flat, decorative landscapes, but before his work developed into the highly stylized manner of the Vienna Secession, he was a portrait painter in the traditional academic method. As a student, he admired Vienna’s premier traditional history painter, Hans Makart. Makart is not widely known today, but in 1850s Vienna he was lionized as the defining artist of the city, so much so that the prevailing decorative style of the day was known as “Makartstil” (Makart style). Makart’s work was in the ever popular history style, with a flair for romanticism and Orientalism, and emphasis on color over drawing. His painting below, “The Dream after the Ball”, is an example of the kind of lush Victorian composition he favored.

Hans Makart, The Dream after the Ball, oil on canvas

It’s a question how much of Klimt’s preference for richly detailed exoticism grew out of the sensibility set forth by Makart – as the Viennese style it must have influenced him when he was young – but without doubt Klimt did embrace the accepted academic methods of working and his little-known portrait work during his early career shows his strong draftsmanship and traditional painting skill. As a teenager, Klimt studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, a trade school for craftsmen, where he learned architectural painting. By 1880, he was painting murals professionally. But he also enjoyed painting in oils and there is a number of portrait commissions surviving from this period, showing some influence from Makart in the delight in depicting luxurious materials, but a more modern flair in spare compositions and limited color schemes. It was right around the turn of the century, starting in 1897, that Klimt began to transition to his trademark style combining Orientalism, art nouveau, and Byzantine influences. In the selection of early works below, listed according to the date made, you can see him beginning to progress from straightforward realism to an interest in pattern, design, and stylized realism. The last painting, “Mada Primevesi”, is a portrait painted after he had been working in his unique Vienna Secession style for about twelve years. It shows how his traditional training still clung to his modernist style and is a fascinating comparison, in both technique and vision, to his earlier work. 

Gustav Klimt, Portrait of a Woman, oil on canvas, 1894

Gustav Klimt, Portrait of a Lady, oil on cardboard, 1894 

Gustav Klimt, The Blind Man, oil on canvas, 1896

Gustav Klimt, Woman with Fur Collar, oil on cardboard, 1897 

Gustav Klimt, Woman in an Armchair, oil on board, 1897-98

Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Sonja Knips, oil on canvas, 1898

Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Helene Klimt, oil on cardboard, 1898

Gustav Klimt, A Morning by the Pond, oil on canvas, 1899

Gustav Klimt, Mada Primavesi, oil on canvas, 1912