“Klimt was exceptionally animal-like. His body exuded a peculiar odor. As a woman, one was really afraid of him.” These are the words of Hilde Roth, the beautiful Lady With Hat and Feather Boa, an eager subject from the storied artist’s muse collective, the models hanging about his studio in packs. Klimt was frank in his eroticism. He painted his models nude first, and then painted on clothes and surrounded them with the atmospheric blood of gilded detail, as discovered after his death when The Bride was left unfinished and exposed. Similarly, Klimt himself was known for wearing a long robe with no undergarments. Mm-hmm.
Alright, we’re getting a bit saucy there, but it’s a special occasion. Tomorrow we celebrate what would have been Klimt’s 150th birthday. Here are 15 of his paintings and naughty sketches, from the mythical nymphs frolicking out of strategically flowing, draped clothing to tangles of sketched, nude lovers to the pretty maidens threatened by a snarling animal (perhaps, a nod at Klimt’s syphilis-related anxieties). Flip through a few of the sexy beast’s career highlights in our slideshow.
Gustav Klimt, The Bride, 1917-1918.
Gustav Klimt, Danae, 1907-1908.
A drawing by Gustav Klimt. Image via.
Gustav Klimt, Women Friends, 1916-1917.
A drawing by Gustav Klimt. Image via.
Gustav Klimt, Judith and the Head of Holofernes, 1901.
Gustav Klimt, The Virgin, 1913.
A drawing by Gustav Klimt. Image via.
Gustav Klimt, Goldfish, 1901.
Gustav Klimt, Reclining Nude, 1917.
Gustav Klimt, Water Serpents II, 1904-1907.
Gustav Klimt, Beethoven Frieze, 1902.
Gustav Klimt, Adam and Eve (unfinished), 1917-1918.
Gustav Klimt, Zwei auf einem Ruhebett liegende Frauenakte, 1916.
Gustav Klimt in the flesh. Image via.