Gustav Klimt  was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art.

Klimt's primary subject was the female body, and his works are marked by a frank eroticism. Amongst his figurative works, which include allegories and portraits, he painted landscapes.  He achieved a new success with the paintings of his "golden phase", many of which include gold leaf. The prominent use of gold can first be traced back to Pallas Athene, (1898) and Judith and the Head of Holofernes (1901), although the works most popularly associated with this period are the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907) and The Kiss (1907-1908). In 1911 his painting Death and Life received first prize in the world exhibitions in Rome. Art historians note an eclectic range of influences contributing to Klimt's distinct style, including Egyptian, Minoan, Classical Greek, and Byzantine inspirations. Gustav Klimt was also inspired by the engravings of Albrecht Durer, late medieval European painting, and Japanese Rimpa school. 

Since the 1990s, he has been one of the artists whose paintings fetch top prices at auctions.