Early life of Gustav Klimt
Gustav Klimt was born in Baumgarten, a small municipality near Vienna, Austria.
He was the second of seven children and the son of a gold engraver. At the age of fourteen, he was enrolled in the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts in 1876. He was trained as an architectural decorator. He and his brother and father began working together around the year 1800.
It was after that that he began his professional career painting interior murals in large public places in Vienna.
In 1888, Gustav Klimt received the Golden Order of Merit given to him by the Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria for his artistic contributions. In 1892, both his father and brother died and Gustav met Emilie Floge, who would be his lifelong companion.