Klimt Landscapes

For the last twenty years of his career, Gustav Klimt devoted considerable energy to painting landscapes during his summer vacations--and these bucolic scenes became some of his most sought-after pictures. Filled with vibrant high-quality reproductions and featuring engaging essays by leading scholars in the field, this exhibition catalog situates Klimt's landscapes alongside fin-de-siècle fashion, photography, and decorative arts of the Wiener Werkstätte in particular. Klimt's landscapes are examined within the context of his larger oeuvre and traces the evolution of his style: from one informed by the academic tradition, to his ornate "golden style" decorative approach influenced by the ideal of the Gesamtkunstwerk, and then to a more painterly manner of working in pure color. The book also considers Klimt's relationship with his muse, fashion designer Emilie Flöge; his deep engagement with the Viennese avant-garde; and the specific techniques he employed to achieve mesmerizing, harmonious works that literally shimmer with light and color.