Gustav Klimt was the leading figure of the Vienna Secession and one of the most distinctive painters of the Art Nouveau period. His work is characterized by golden ornamentation, mosaic-like patterns, and erotically charged female figures that fuse Byzantine splendor with modern symbolism. The Kiss (1907–08) is his most famous work — two figures entwined in golden robes against a golden background — and has become one of the most reproduced images in art history. After the Anschluss, several of his most important paintings — including Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I — were looted by the Nazis and not returned to the rightful heirs until 2006.
