Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918) rose from childhood impoverishment to become a brilliant Austrian iconoclast with enormous impact on the Viennese Secession and Art Nouveau movements. Known for elaborate, explicitly sensual paintings and murals, Klimt's works also encompass themes of regeneration, love and death. Embedding his work with images symbolizing the freedom of art from traditional Western culture, Klimt's eclectic range of influences included Egyptian, Classical Greek, Byzantine and Medieval styles. A forerunner of Modernism and the Art Deco movements, Klimt's creative influence still resonates today.