Artists You Should Know: Gustav Klimt

Ada Lio, who is on the official list of Art History Cyber Friends (thanks, Ada!), writes in from time to time with helpful suggestions on "missing" artists. This request was for Gustav Klimt getting the nod, and high time (on my part), too. Who hasn't seen The Kiss, whether or not he or she was aware of the artist's name?

It occurred to me that, maybe, I've been dragging my feet over Klimt because I've always felt a bit badly about his struggles. It seems like everything he touched annoyed one faction or another - all of whom were quite vocal in their criticism - and I've often wondered how he kept on doing that which he did so brilliantly. Must have been some perseverance gene (or utter conviction) that's unknown to me. Perhaps John Malkovich will bring this to light when the new film on Klimt (in which he plays the title character) is released.