The Altar of Dionysos – (Gustav Klimt) Detail Gustav Klimt 1886-1887
Gustav Klimt was born in Baumgarten, near Vienna, as the second of seven children. His mother, Anna, aspired to be a musical performer, while his father, Ernst Klimt the Elder, was a gold engraver. Klimt and his brothers, Ernst and Georg, showed artistic talent from a young age.
Klimt studied architectural painting at the Vienna Kunstgewerbeschule from 1876 to 1883 while living in poverty and admired the history painter Hans Makart. His early work was academically influenced, and in 1877, his brother Ernst also joined the school.
In 1880, the two brothers and their friend, Franz Matsch, formed the “Company of Artists” and took on various commissions, while also assisting their teacher with murals in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Klimt started his career by painting interior murals and ceilings in public buildings along the Ringstraße, including a notable series titled “Allegories and Emblems”.