It is considered to be a masterpiece of his labour-intensive 'golden style', which has produced very few works. It is a painting of oil on canvas of 138 × 138 cm. Klimt worked on it for at least three full years (between 1904 and 1907), he made hundreds of sketches and incorporated real gold into it. The work is a collage with elegant Art Nouveau curls, abstract geometry and the eye motif of Egyptian gods. From that busy, Byzantine looking background, the modern face looks confident but somewhat melancholy.
Gustav Klimt (Baumgarten, now part of Vienna), 14 July 1862 - Vienna, 6 February 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter, muralist and draughtsman. He is considered to be the most prominent member of the Vienna Secession, of which he was also chairman for some time. Characteristic of his later works, with which he became best known, is the decorative ornamentalism (in which he often also worked with gold leaf) and the suggestive erotic symbolism. He made a name for himself with his portraits of women and allegorical works, but he also painted a large number of landscapes. Klimt's art was created during an artistic boom period in the belle époque in Vienna and is often associated with the Art Nouveau and Art Nouveau movements. His oeuvre is seen as exemplary for the tension between conservatism and the urge for progress.
