FROM OUR EDITORS

Set against the general development of turn-of-the-century art, this monograph of Gustav Klimt discusses the great revolutionary Viennese artist's prodigious influence during his lifetime and on the art world today. Lavishly illustrated with color plates and black-and-white drawings, this enlightening study traces the evolution of Klimt's work, examining his training at the School of Arts and Crafts (where he learned the creative principles of classical art that served him in good stead all his life); his collaborative work with his brother Ernst and Franz Matsch; his early public works commissions in Vienna; his conversion to Symbolism and Jugendstil; and his role as founder and president of the Vienna Secession movement. Writing lucidly on the complexities of Klimt's genius, Susan Partsch takes readers on interesting side trips through the artist's life, exploring his friendship with Emilia Floge, the evolution of his erotic drawings, and his convoluted relationship with women.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

When Klimt died on February 6, 1918, all Vienna mourned the loss of their greatest painter. The impressive scale of the exhibition "Dream and Reality: Vienna 1870-1930", mounted in Vienna, Paris and New York in recent years attests to the world-wide importance of Klimt's work today.

The author writes lucidly on the complexities of Klimt's genius, providing the reader with a fresh and inspiring insight into his work. There is also a comprehensive study of significant background elements such as the general development of art in Klimt's lifetime. The author writes, too, on the artist's friendship with Emilia Floge and on his erotic drawings, attempting an interesting and sensitive interpretation of Klimt's relationship with women.