Extraordinary lives are marked by paintings extraordinary.
The life of the painter Klimt was simple yet somewhat secluded, devoted to his art and his family, with little else beyond the Secessionist Movement, and he socially avoided café society and other artists. Klimt’s fame tended to bring clients to his door, and he could afford to be selective about whom he accepted. His painting method was meticulous and at times required long sittings from his subjects. Although Klimt was sexually very active, he kept his affairs discreet and avoided personal scandal. He also used mythology and allegory to subtly veil his highly erotic nature, and his drawings often reveal a purely sexual interest in women as objects. His models were routinely available to pose in whatever erotic manner pleased him.
Like several artists of his time, many of his models were also prostitutes.
