Klimt was born July 14, 1862, in Baumgarten, a suburb of Vienna. His father, Ernst Klimt (1834-1892), an etcher, was from a family of Bohemian farmers that moved to Vienna when he was eight. His mother, Anna Finster (1836-1815), was originally from Vienna. When he was14, he entered the School of Art, founded in 1867 and part of the Art and Industry Museum of the Austrian Empire. Klimt's typical style, defined by the contrast between highly detailed naturalism and abstract stylization, intensely decorated surfaces and vast spaces, found its inspiration in the diversified character of the School of Art.

After his training years at the school, Klimt developed into a highly successful artist and was asked to design many of the monumental buildings on the Ringstrasse in Vienna. Towards the end of the XIXth century Klimt became the leader of a group of young artists, whose main ideas expressed the basis of Modern Art, protesting against traditional artistic forms and ethical norms. This movement was rooted in the 1897 Viennese Secession. The artists' first exhibition expressed the ancient battle between old and new artistic forms. Other international exhibits followed, among which the most important was in honour of Beethoven and took place in 1902, in a building designed by Klimt and Joseph Maria Olbrich.