The Kiss of a Tree of Life

On July 14, 1862, Gustav Klimt was born in Baumgarten in the Austrian Empire to Ernst and Anna Klimt.  Gustav Klimt was one of seven children born to the gold engraver and the musical performer.  The Klimt family was very poor through Gustav’s childhood, having to move several times to more affordable places, but that did not stop him and his brothers from expressing their incredible artistic talents.  Noticing their brilliant talents, Anna Klimt enrolled three of her sons, including Gustav, into the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts.  He had many different flings with women during his lifetime, including ones with Emilie Louise Flöge and Maria Učicky, and he fathered at least 14 children.  

  The Kiss           
    After his schooling, Klimt’s works began getting great recognition.  He had many different techniques from drawing to painting to murals, and he most famously utilized the use of gold leafs in his paintings. During the time of Impressionism, some of Klimt’s works were criticized greatly for being too erotic which drove him away from the government issued and endorsed works and to create and president the Vienna Secession.  Some of his most famous works include The Kiss, Tree of Life, and Mother and Child.  The Kiss depicts a man and a woman embracing as the man kisses the woman on the cheek.  The Tree of Life shows a tree growing with swirling branches and different forms and aspects of life.

     The Tree of Life        
   During the time of reconstruction in the US, WW2, the Mexican Revolution, prohibition in the US, and the Panic of 1893 (also US), Gustav Klimt lived and normally wore sandals and a long robe without undergarments on around his household.

Mother and Child