Gustav Klimt - Legacy

Legacy

According to the writer Frank Whitford: "Klimt of course, is an important artist — he's a very popular artist — but in terms of the history of art, he's a very unimportant artist. Although he sums up so much in his work, about the society in which he found himself — in art historical terms his effect was negligible. So he's an artist really in a cul-de-sac."

Klimt's work had a strong influence on the paintings of Egon Schiele, whom he would collaborate with to found the Kunsthalle (Hall of Art) in 1917, to try to keep local artists from going abroad.
National Public Radio reported on January 17, 2006 that "The Austrian National Gallery is being compelled by a national arbitration board to return five paintings by Gustav Klimt to a Los Angeles woman, the heir of a Jewish family that had its art stolen by the Nazis. The paintings are estimated to be worth at least $150 million."
Klimt's work has spawned many reinterpretations, including the works of Slovak artist Rudolf Fila.
Couturier John Galliano found inspiration for the Christian Dior Spring-Summer 2008 haute couture collection in Klimt's work.
Romanian poet Sebastian Reichmann has published in 2008 a book called Mocheta lui Klimt (Klimt's Carpet). As the author says in an interview and even in one of the poems from the book, the title was inspired by a carpet from a train he often attended, carpet that reminded him of Klimt's paintings. Also, the front cover depicts an Art Nouveau-styled passage from Bucharest.
South Korean novelist Kim Young-ha frequently refers to Klimt, particularly Judith, in his first novel I Have The Right To Destroy Myself. One of the main characters in this novel is referred to by the other characters as Judith because of her resemblance to Klimt's painting and is thus also known primarily as Judith to the reader.
Several of Klimt's most famous works from his golden period inspired the title sequence for the animated adaptation of the manga series Elfen Lied, in which the art is recreated to fit with the series' own characters and is arranged as a montage with the song "Lilium". The opening to the anime Sound of the Sky is also largely inspired by Klimt's works.
Japanese rock band Buck-Tick based the cover artwork of their 2012 album Yume Miru Uchuu on Klimt's Gold Fish.