Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) was an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominenet members of the Vienna Secession Movement. Klimt's primary subject was the female body. His works are marked by a frank eroticism, the use of symbols and the elegant gold or coloured decoration. In the opulent works of his "Golden Period" figurines and ornaments are melting to become compositions of unique sensuality. The co-founder of the "Vienna Secession" combines the various movements of the international Art Nouveau in his splendid paintings and thus becomes one of the most important representatives. Beyond all temporal and spatial bounds his most famous painting "The Kiss" is considered the "Allegory of Love" as such.