Gustav Klimt's Most Famous Paintings
Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) was an Austrian painter and the founding president of the Vienna Secession. His most famous paintings are The Kiss and Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, both produced during his decorative Golden Phase. ArtsyWall offers archival Gustav Klimt prints that span his early realism, gilded portraits, and tranquil Austrian landscapes.
What are Gustav Klimt's most famous paintings?
Gustav Klimt is best known for The Kiss and Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, which define his decorative Golden Phase.
Completed between 1907 and 1908, The Kiss depicts an embracing couple cloaked in ornate, patterned robes at the edge of a flower meadow. It is often called the high point of his Golden Phase. In the same period, Klimt completed Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (Woman in Gold) in 1907. That work combines naturalistic facial painting with heavy geometric gold ornamentation.
Klimt also gained acclaim for the Beethoven Frieze (1902), a monumental mural created for a Secession exhibition in Vienna. You can view similar decorative works in our collection of Art Nouveau prints.
What defined Gustav Klimt's early portrait period?
Before his Golden Phase, Klimt built his reputation with formal oil portraits and realistic figurative studies.
In the 1890s, Klimt received commissions from prominent patrons across Vienna. Works such as Marie Breunig (1894) and Blind Man (1896) display his training in classical academic realism. As the decade progressed, his compositions shifted toward atmospheric mood and flatter backgrounds. Examples include Portrait of a Lady with Cape and Hat (1897–1898) and Helene Klimt (1898).
In 1897, Klimt co-founded the Vienna Secession and served as its first president. His portraiture embraced soft contour lines and modern fashion, visible in Serena Pulitzer Lederer (1899) and Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann (1900–1901). Our catalog also has three portraits without a firm date: Head Study of a Girl, Girl in the Foliage and Lady en Face. See more portrait wall art.
What made Gustav Klimt's Golden Phase unique?
Gustav Klimt's Golden Phase lasted roughly from 1899 to 1910 and integrated delicate gold leaf into complex figurative compositions.
During this period, Klimt applied metallic leaf to oil paint to create shimmering surfaces influenced by Byzantine mosaics. In 1902, he painted a celebrated portrait of Emilie Flöge, a fashion designer and his lifelong companion. That portrait pairs a realistic face with a flat, patterned dress.
Klimt refined this approach in Portrait of Fritza Riedler (1906), placing his subject against a wall of geometric blocks. Figurative works like Crouching Woman Wrapped in a Dark Cloak (1908–1909) and Mother with Two Children (1909) captured tender human emotion within stylized drapery. By the end of this period, Klimt painted The Black-Feathered Hat (1910), balancing dramatic dark headwear with expressive brushstrokes.
Why did Gustav Klimt paint square landscapes at Attersee?
Klimt spent summers at the Attersee lake in Austria from 1900 to 1916, producing square-format landscapes to study light and pattern.
Away from his urban studio, Klimt used a square canvas to remove traditional perspective and flatten space. His early landscape Tranquil Pond (1899) and the tranquil water study Island in the Attersee (c. 1901–02) capture subtle surface reflections. Over the following decade, he painted dense country gardens filled with foliage and flowers, including Rosebushes under the Trees (c. 1905), Cottage Garden (1905–1907), Poppy Field (1907), and Cottage Garden with Sunflowers (1907).
Klimt also depicted regional architecture near the lake. Paintings such as Schloss Kammer on the Attersee III (1909–1910), Farmhouse in Buchberg (1911), Avenue to Schloss Kammer (1912), and Litzlberg on the Attersee (1914–1915) treat buildings as interlocking blocks of color. Other landscapes in our catalog without a firm date include Church in Cassone, Sunflowers, Lakeshore with Birches, and Beech Grove I. Browse our landscape wall art for more scenic classic prints.
How did Gustav Klimt's style change in his late period?
Between 1912 and his death in 1918, Klimt abandoned metallic leaf in favor of vivid color and pattern.
His late portrait commissions feature layered textiles, expressive brushwork, and rich blues, pinks, and yellows. In Mäda Primavesi (1912–1913) and Eugenia Primavesi (1913), Klimt placed his subjects against vibrant floral backdrops. His major allegorical composition The Maiden (The Virgin) (1913) links multiple figures into a sweeping spiral of patterned fabrics.
Klimt continued this colorful approach in his final years with portraits like Friederike Maria Beer (1916) and Johanna Staude (1917). His late canvas Lady in White (1917–1918) returns to softer white fabrics set against a dark background.
Which Gustav Klimt prints are available at ArtsyWall?
ArtsyWall offers 36 fine art prints reproducing paintings, portraits, and studies by Gustav Klimt.
| Painting | Year | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Marie Breunig | 1894 | Woman in dark patterned gown |
| Blind Man | 1896 | Elderly man shown in profile |
| Portrait of a Lady with Cape and Hat | 1897–1898 | Woman wearing dark hat and cape |
| Helene Klimt | 1898 | Young girl with brown hair |
| Tranquil Pond | 1899 | Forest pond reflecting green trees |
| Serena Pulitzer Lederer | 1899 | Standing woman in white gown |
| Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann | 1900–1901 | Woman in dark dress with jewelry |
| Island in the Attersee | c. 1901–02 | Distant island on calm water |
| Emilie Flöge | 1902 | Woman in blue patterned dress |
| Rosebushes under the Trees | c. 1905 | Fruit trees with white blossoms |
| Cottage Garden | 1905–1907 | Vibrant blooming flowers in garden |
| Portrait of Fritza Riedler | 1906 | Seated woman against decorative background |
| Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (Woman in Gold) | 1907 | Woman surrounded by golden patterning |
| Poppy Field | 1907 | Red poppies growing in meadow |
| Cottage Garden with Sunflowers | 1907 | Tall sunflowers blooming in garden |
| The Kiss | 1907–08 | Embracing couple wrapped in gold |
| Crouching Woman Wrapped in a Dark Cloak | 1908–1909 | Crouching figure in dark cloak |
| Mother with Two Children | 1909 | Sleeping mother holding two children |
| Schloss Kammer on the Attersee III | 1909–1910 | Waterfront manor beside tall trees |
| The Black-Feathered Hat | 1910 | Woman wearing wide black hat |
| Farmhouse in Buchberg | 1911 | House seen through orchard trees |
| Avenue to Schloss Kammer | 1912 | Tree-lined road leading to manor |
| Mäda Primavesi | 1912–1913 | Young girl in white dress |
| Eugenia Primavesi | 1913 | Woman in bright floral dress |
| The Maiden (The Virgin) | 1913 | Entwined sleeping women among fabrics |
| Litzlberg on the Attersee | 1914–1915 | Lakeside village beside green hills |
| Friederike Maria Beer | 1916 | Standing woman in floral robe |
| Johanna Staude | 1917 | Woman wearing patterned blue blouse |
| Lady in White | 1917–1918 | Woman standing in white dress |
| Girl in the Foliage | Woman in white among leaves | |
| Lady en Face | Woman wearing dark ruffled dress | |
| Head Study of a Girl | Young girl in white headscarf | |
| Church in Cassone | Village houses beside cypress trees | |
| Sunflowers | Tall sunflowers growing in field | |
| Lakeshore with Birches | Birch trees along lake shore | |
| Beech Grove I | Forest grove of tall trees |
How should you choose a Gustav Klimt print for your home?
Choosing the right Gustav Klimt print involves matching the print format, frame material, and dimensions to your room.
ArtsyWall produces each artwork as a giclee print using archival inks. You can select from three formats depending on your display preferences:
- Gallery Wrapped Canvas: Printed on archival acid-free canvas and stretched over solid wood bars. It features a semi-gloss finish and arrives ready to hang with a sawtooth hanger.
- Framed Canvas: The canvas print is hand-stretched and set into a wooden floating frame. Frame finishes include Black, White, Silver, Gold, Oak, and Walnut, complete with hanging wire.
- Fine Art Paper: Printed with aqueous pigment inks on 340 gsm textured 100% cotton rag paper. It ships rolled in a mailing tube for custom framing.
For a detailed breakdown of materials, review our canvas vs framed canvas vs fine art paper guide.
Selecting the right print size
Standard Klimt prints are offered in sizes matched to the artwork's proportions. Near 3:4 aspect ratio works come in 11x14, 12x16, 18x24, 24x32, and 30x40 inches. Near 2:3 aspect ratio works are available in 8x12, 12x18, 16x24, 24x36, and 28x42 inches.
As a rule of thumb, hang wall art so its center sits 57 to 60 inches from the floor. When hanging art above a sofa, bed, or console, choose a print width that fills about two-thirds of the furniture width. Leave 6 to 10 inches between the top of your furniture and the bottom of the frame. Read our wall art size guide for additional placement recommendations.
Discover our full collection of Gustav Klimt prints to bring the intricate patterns of the Vienna Secession into your living space.