Lower Belvedere
3 February to 29 May 2023
Which works by Vincent van Gogh did Gustav Klimt actually know? How familiar
was he with Henry Matisse’s oeuvre? Together with the Van Gogh Museum in
Amsterdam, the Belvedere traces the demonstrable influence of those avant-garde
artists on the great master of Viennese Modernism. The exhibition also
includes works that do not usually go on loan due to their fragile condition. With
Water Serpents II, last shown publicly in Austria in 1964, one of Klimt's major
works returns to Vienna.
General Director Stella Rollig: “How could we start the Belvedere anniversary year
2023 more festively than with an exhibition dedicated to Gustav Klimt? Without a
doubt, this presentation provides fresh perspectives and a selection of magnificent
works, some of which are being shown in Vienna for the first time or have not been
seen in decades. We also see Klimt in a new light: as an open and innovative artist
who studied other art and never made a secret of his sources, and who was always
curious about changing trends, incorporating them into his own work.”
The comprehensive show at the Lower Belvedere highlights the impact of significant Western
European artists on Gustav Klimt's work. Carefully chosen comparisons of his paintings with
works of art that had a verifiable influence on him create an exciting dialogue, with works by
Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, and Jan Toorop, as well as Claude
Monet, Auguste Rodin, Vincent van Gogh, and Henri Matisse. In what ways did they inspire
Klimt? How did he translate these influences into his own visual language?
According to curator Markus Fellinger: “Klimt is often considered a solitary genius,
one whose creativity emerged from within and was shaped by the circumstances that
prevailed in his immediate environment in 'Vienna around 1900.' Our exhibition shows
a very different Klimt. Many of his contemporaries were aware of the extent to which
his work was influenced by the most modern artists of his day, whom he met at the
Secession, the Galerie Miethke, and other places. Through a series of clear
comparisons, we illustrate how Klimt was able to assimilate the artistic achievements
of the time into the development of his own work with unerring instinct.”
Basis of the exhibition is an extensive research project launched in 2015 by the Belvedere and
the Van Gogh Museum that investigated the question of which works of international modern
art Klimt could have actually encountered, whether in exhibitions and collections in Vienna;
during numerous trips abroad to Munich, Venice, or Paris; or through reproductions in
publications. Important exhibition venues such as the Secession and the Galerie Miethke – as
well as lesser-known institutions and important Austrian private collections such as those of
Carl Reininghaus or the Wittgenstein family – were thoroughly investigated. In addition, period
publications were reviewed and Klimt's travel activities were traced for references to exhibition
and gallery visits.
The information gathered provides the exhibition with a sound scientific foundation and gives a
sense of the prominence and presence of international modern art in Vienna. A fresh
understanding of Klimt's artistic development emerges through the juxtaposition of his works
with those that inspired him during his creative process. In response to the diverse
impressions he gained, especially from the exhibitions that followed the founding of the
Secession, his style continuously changed and evolved, demonstrating his keen awareness of
the artistic movements of the day.
The exhibition shows some ninety paintings, drawings, and sculptures by Gustav Klimt and his
contemporaries.
Curators: Markus Fellinger (Belvedere, Vienna); Edwin Becker and Renske Suijver (Van Gogh
Museum, Amsterdam)
Assistant curators: Stephanie Auer (Belvedere, Vienna) and Lisa Smit (Van Gogh Museum,
Amsterdam)
EXHIBITION CATALOGUE
Klimt. Inspired by Van Gogh, Rodin, Matisse
Editors: Stella Rollig, Markus Fellinger (Belvedere),
Emilie E. S. Gordenker, Edwin Becker (Van Gogh
Museum)
Authors: Stephanie Auer, Edwin Becker, Marian
Bisanz-Prakken, Markus Fellinger, Lisa Smit, Renske
Suijver
Graphic design: Joseph Plateau, Amsterdam
Binding: hardcover
Publisher: Hirmer Verlag GmbH
Number of pages: 240
Format: 23 x 29,8 cm
Available in English, German and Dutch
ISBN: 978-94-93070-42-4 (EN)
Images
Gustav Klimt, Water Serpents II, 1904/1906–07Private collection, courtesy of HomeArt
Gustav Klimt, Johanna Staude, 1917/1918
Foto: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Wien
Henri Matisse, The Girl with Green Eyes, 1908
Photo: Ben Blackwell © Succession H. Matisse / Bildrecht, Vienna 2022
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, bequest of Harriet Lane Levy
Gustav Klimt, Freundinnen (Wasserschlangen I), 1904
© Belvedere, Wien
Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, Embroidered Panels, c. 1902-04
The Glasgow School of Art
Gustav Klimt, Blühender Mohn, 1907
Foto: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Wien
Ferdinand Hodler, Ergriffenheit, 1900
© Belvedere, Wien
Gustav Klimt, Avenue in the Park of Schloss Kammer, 1912
Photo: Belvedere, Wien
Gustav Klimt, Judith, 1901
Photo: Belvedere, Wien
Gustav Klimt, Eugenia Primavesi, 1913
Toyota Municipal Museum of Art

Vincent Van Gogh, Orchard in Blossom, 1889
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Vincent Van Gogh, Field with Irises near Arles, 1888
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Claude Monet, Branch of the Seine near Giverny (Mist), 1897
The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection
Gustav Klimt, A Morning by the Pond, 1899
Leopold Museum, Vienna
John Singer Sargent, Study for Madame Gautreau, c. 1884
Tate, London, Presented by Lord Duveen through the Art Fund 1925

Gustav Klimt, Portrait of a Lady, 1894
permanent loan from a private collection
Photo: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Vienna
ARTISTS (30)
André Derain
(1917 Zurich - 1994 Vienna)
Auguste Rodin
(1840 Paris – 1917 Meudon)
Cuno Amiet
(1868 Solothurn – 1961 Oschwand)
Édouard Manet
(1832 Paris – 1883 Paris)
Ferdinand Hodler
(1853 Berne – 1918 Geneva)
Franz von Stuck
(1863 Tettenweis – 1928 Munich)
Aubrey Beardsley
(1872 Brighton – 1898 Menton)
Claude Monet
(1840 Paris – 1926 Giverny)
Edmond Aman-Jean
(1858 Chevry-Cossigny – 1936 Paris)
Edvard Munch
(1863 Løten – 1944 Skoten near Oslo)
Fernand Khnopff
(1858 Grembergen-lez-Termonde – 1921 Brussels)
George Minne
(1866 Ghent – 1941 Laethem-Saint-Martin)
Georges Seurat
(1859 Paris – 1891 Paris)
Gustav Klimt
(1867 Vienna– 1931 Vienna)
Henri Matisse
(1869 Le Cateau-Cambrésis – 1954 Cimiez) James Abbott McNeill Whistler
(1834 Massachusetts – 1903 London)
John Singer Sargent (1856 Florence – 1925 London)
Giovanni Segantini
(1858 Arco – 1899 Schafberg)
Hans Makart
(1840 Salzburg – 1884 Vienna)
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
(1864 Albi – 1901 Château Malromé [Gironde])
Jan Toorop
(1858 Purworejo [Java] – 1928 The Hague)
Kees van Dongen (1877 Delfshaven – 1968 Monte Carlo)
Lawrence Alma-Tadema
(1836 Dronrijp – 1912 Wiesbaden) Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh
(1864 Tipton – 1933 London)
Max Klinger
(1857 Leipzig – 1920 Großjena)
Pierre Bonnard
(1867 Fontenay-aux-Roses – 1947 Le Cannet)
Théo Van Rysselberghe
(1862 Ghent – 1926 Saint-Clair)
Paul Cézanne
(1839 Aix-en-Provence – 1906 Aix-en-Provence)
Sascha Schneider
(1870 St. Petersburg – 1927 Swinoujscie)
Vincent van Gogh
(1853 Groot-Zundert – 1890 Auvers-sur-Oise)
KLIMT AND HIS TIME -
ENCOUNTERS WITH INTERNATIONAL ART
1862
Klimt is born in Baumgarten, a suburb of
Vienna. His father is a self-employed
engraver with a small studio and a modest
income.
1873
Vienna World’s Fair at the Prater, including
a major art exhibition. Claude Monet
exhibits a small painting that goes largely
unnoticed. Further major exhibitions of
international art are held at the
Künstlerhaus and the Österreichischer
Kunstverein (Austrian Art Society),
featuring key works by Gustave Courbet.
1874
First exhibition in Paris of works by a group
of artists who would become known as the
Impressionists. 1876 Klimt starts his
education at the Kunstgewerbeschule
(School of Applied Arts) in Vienna.
1878
After two years attending the preparatory
course, Klimt is accepted in Ferdinand
Laufberger’s class at the school of
painting. He starts collaborating with his
younger brother Ernst and their mutual
friend, Franz Matsch. Even as students,
they work on major commissions together.
Reports about the Impressionists’
exhibitions begin to appear in the
Viennese press.
1880
Rodin starts on the designs for his
masterpiece, The Gates of Hell, which he
would continue to work on until shortly
before his death.
1883
In summer, Klimt completes his studies at
the Vienna School of Applied Arts and
establishes a joint studio with his brother
Ernst and Franz Matsch. A major
International Art Exhibition is held in
Munich; the Vienna Künstlerhaus shows
reproductions of masterpieces from
across Europe. The ceiling paintings for
Liberec city theater—a joint project by the
Klimt brothers and Franz Matsch—reveal
the influence of a Western European
master, Alexandre Cabanel, for the first
time in Klimt’s work. Death of Édouard
Manet and Eva Gonzalès in Paris.
1884
Death of Hans Makart, Vienna’s
preeminent artist. Georges Seurat
develops Pointillism.
1886
The ceiling paintings for the grand
staircases at the Burgtheater are the first
major commission in Vienna to be
awarded to the Klimt and Matsch Atelier.
The artists start looking to Lawrence Alma-Tadema and move away from the influence
of Hans Makart. The School of Pont-Aven
is formed around Paul Gauguin.
1888
Klimt in all likelihood travels to the major
International Art Exhibition in Munich,
which includes numerous key works by
James McNeill Whistler. Vincent van Gogh
and Paul Gauguin work together in Arles
for nine weeks. In Paris, the Nabis emerge
as a group of artists centered around
Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard.
1890
Klimt becomes established as Vienna’s
leading painter. First trip to Venice.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema is still his main
source of inspiration for the paintings
around the staircase at the
Kunsthistorisches Museum. The influence
of works by Frederic Leighton can also be
identified. Vincent van Gogh dies in
Auvers-sur-Oise.
1892
Foundation of the Munich Secession.
Works by Franz von Stuck, its co-founder,
are showcased at the Vienna Künstlerhaus
and cause a sensation. Edvard Munch’s
first exhibition in Berlin ends in scandal.
The death of Klimt’s father, closely
followed by his brother Ernst, plunges
Klimt into a deep personal crisis.
1894
The Third International Art Exhibition at the
Vienna Künstlerhaus shows hardly any modern art. Dissatisfaction about this
conservative environment builds among
young artists and critics. In December,
Franz von Stuck again exhibits at the
Vienna Künstlerhaus, this time with the
Munich Secession. These impressions
prompt Klimt to turn away from academic
painting. He paints his first works revealing
a completely new approach to color,
emulating Stuck and other modern
painters.
1897
In April, Klimt and a group of progressive
artists leave the Künstlerhaus and found
the Vienna Secession. In summer, Klimt
first encounters paintings by Claude
Monet in the International Art Exhibition at
Munich’s Glaspalast.
1898
The Secession’s first exhibition presents
an overview of contemporary art in Europe
with the work of 131 foreign artists. Klimt
finds new sources of inspiration in the art
of Auguste Rodin and Fernand Khnopff.
From April, paintings by Claude Monet are
shown at the Künstlerhaus jubilee
exhibition, the artist’s first appearance in
Vienna since 1873. Shortly afterward,
Klimt paints his first landscapes during his
summer vacation in the Salzkammergut.
Klimt becomes a corresponding member
of both the Munich Secession and the
International Society of Sculptors, Painters
and Gravers in London.
1899 The third Secession exhibition opens in
January showing Pointillist paintings by
Théo Van Rysselberghe. In May, while on a
trip to Italy, Klimt visits the Venice
Biennale, where two of his paintings are on
show. There he sees works by James
McNeill Whistler, Claude Monet, Ferdinand
Hodler, and Margaret Macdonald
Mackintosh, all of major significance for
his further development as an artist.
Giovanni Segantini dies in Pontresina.
1900
The media storm around Klimt’s Faculty
Paintings begins to rage. Klimt exhibits
Philosophy, Sonja Knips, and Pallas Athene
at the Paris World’s Fair and wins a gold
medal. His planned trip to the French
capital is abandoned. The seventh
Secession exhibition brings to Vienna the
art of Paul Signac, Fernand Khnopff, and
Jan Toorop; the eighth exhibition includes
works by George Minne and the Glasgow
Four, the collective centered around
Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh and
Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
1901
The ninth Secession exhibition showcases
Giovanni Segantini and Auguste Rodin. In
autumn, Klimt creates the Beethoven
Frieze, although this is not displayed until
1902. Opening in December, the twelfth
Secession exhibition brings to Vienna
works by Jan Toorop, Edvard Munch, Akseli
Gallen-Kallela, and Ferdinand Hodler.
Death of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
1902
The Beethoven Exhibition, featuring Klimt’s
Beethoven Frieze, runs from April to June
at the Vienna Secession. Klimt and
Auguste Rodin meet in Vienna during the
exhibition. 1903 At the beginning of the
year, the Secession shows a
comprehensive exhibition about
Impressionism, with major works by all its
key exponents. It also covers Post- and
Neo-Impressionism. The names of artists
like Paul Gauguin, Paul Cézanne, Édouard
Vuillard, and Pierre Bonnard first appear in
the Austrian press as a result. Foundation
of the Wiener Werkstätte in May. In
November, Klimt’s first major solo
exhibition opens at the Secession. After
this, he travels to Venice, Ravenna, and
other destinations in Northern Italy. James
McNeill Whistler dies in London; Paul
Gauguin dies in French Polynesia. 1904
The nineteenth exhibition of the Secession
focuses on works by Ferdinand Hodler,
Cuno Amiet, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, and
Edvard Munch.
1905
An exhibition of Aubrey Beardsley’s work is
held at Galerie Miethke in January. In May,
Klimt travels to Berlin to the second
exhibition of the Deutscher Künstlerbund
(Association of German Artists). He has his
own room at the show and is awarded the
Villa Romana Prize. At the same time, a
Van Gogh exhibition is shown at
Kunstsalon Cassirer in Berlin. Carl Moll
becomes artistic director of Galerie
Miethke. The resulting internal disputes cause Klimt and his followers to leave the
Secession. Moll transforms Galerie
Miethke into the premier venue for
international modern art in Vienna. Henri
Matisse, André Derain, and Maurice de
Vlaminck develop Fauvism. The artist
group Die Brücke (The Bridge) is formed in
Dresden.
1906
Galerie Miethke stages a major Van Gogh
exhibition in January. Klimt travels to
London, Brussels, Berlin, and Dresden.
Paul Cézanne dies in Aix-en-Provence.
1907
Klimt finishes his portrait Adele BlochBauer I (“Golden Adele”); Pablo Picasso
completes his early masterpiece Les
Demoiselles d’Avignon. In March and April,
a major Gauguin exhibition is held at
Galerie Miethke, also featuring works by
Paul Cézanne, Georges Seurat, Henri
Matisse, and other modern French artists.
Klimt travels to Berlin in November.
1908
Klimt and his circle, the so-called Klimt
Group, organize the Wiener Kunstschau.
Auguste Rodin exhibits eighty drawings at
Kunstsalon Heller in Vienna.
1909
At the Internationale Kunstschau, the Klimt
Group again brings together modern
trends in European art, including works by
Vincent van Gogh and Henri Matisse.
Between mid-October and early November, Klimt and Carl Moll travel to
Paris, Madrid, and Toledo. Klimt visits the
Salon d’Automne, in which works by
Matisse are exhibited. He also views many
public and private collections, where he
admires the art of Édouard Manet and Paul
Cézanne. Toulouse Lautrec exhibition at
Galerie Miethke (mid-October to late
November). Matisse publishes his “Notes
of a Painter” in the journal Kunst und
Künstler. These new experiences lead to
the end of Klimt’s Golden Period and a
dramatic stylistic shift to his more
expressive late work.
1910
Exhibition of works by Édouard Manet and
Claude Monet at Galerie Miethke. At the
ninth Venice Biennale, a room is devoted
to Klimt’s art.
1912
Klimt finishes his mosaic frieze for Palais
Stoclet in Brussels. He paints Adele BlochBauer II and Paula Zuckerkandl, the first
portraits in the style of his late work. Both
are significantly inspired by Chinese
applied art. In Paris, František Kupka is the
first artist to show an abstract painting at a
public exhibition.
1913
At the beginning of the year, the exhibition
New Art is held at Galerie Miethke
featuring works by Vincent van Gogh, Paul
Cézanne, Paul Signac, as well as the new
generation of artists, including Pablo Picasso, André Derain, and Kees van
Dongen.
1914
Galerie Miethke stages a Picasso
exhibition (February to March) and a
Derain exhibition (March to April). In May,
Klimt travels to Brussels, where he admires
traditional African art at the Musée du
Congo. Outbreak of World War I while
Klimt is on his summer vacation at the
Attersee lake. Artistic exchange with
Western Europe effectively draws to a halt.
1917
Klimt participates in exhibitions in
Nuremberg, Stockholm, and Copenhagen.
He starts working on his final major
painting The Bride, which would remain
unfinished. Edgar Degas dies in Paris.
1918
Klimt has a stroke on the morning of
January 11. In hospital he becomes
seriously ill with pneumonia; he dies on
February 6.