Gustav Klimt
u003cpu003eThe unfading popularity of Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) attests not only to the particular appeal of his luxuriant painting but also to the universal themes with which he worked: love, feminine beauty, aging, and death.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eThe son of a goldsmith, Klimt created surfaces of ornate and jewel-like luminosity which show the influence of both Egyptian and Japanese art. Through paintings, murals, and friezes, his work is defined by radiant color, fluid lines, floral elements, and mosaic-like patterning.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eWith subjects ranging from sensuality and desire to anxiety and despair, all this iridescence is also suffused with feeling. Klimt's numerous images of women, characterized by curvaceous forms, tender flesh, red lips, and flushed cheeks, were particularly charged with passion, at a time when such frank eroticism was still taboo in Viennese upper-middle-class society.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eThis book presents a selection of Klimt's work, introducing his pictorial world of decoration and desire, as well as his influence on artists to come.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eu003c/pu003eu003cpu003eAbout the seriesu003c/pu003eu003cpu003eBorn back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features: u003c/pu003eu003cpu003ea detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importanceu003c/pu003eu003cpu003ea concise biographyu003c/pu003eu003cpu003eapproximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captionsu003c/pu003e