Gustav Klimt

With its impressive art collection, the Belvedere Gallery in Vienna is one of the leading international museums in the world, with works from the Middle Ages to the present day. The two Belvedere palaces were built in the early 18th century by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt, a popular baroque architect, as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663 to 1736). Today they shelter the world’s largest collection of paintings by Gustav Klimt, as well as other important works from the Viennese Biedermeier period, the Austrian Baroque, the Vienna era around 1900 and French Impressionism. Austrian art is presented in an international context at a total of three locations. Exhibiting, researching, collecting, communicating and preserving are the main tasks of the institution, and the ongoing development and digitalization in all areas will ensure the Belvedere’s status as an outstanding museum in the future.

The Upper Belvedere was completed in 1723 and at that time mainly served representative purposes. Meanwhile it became one of the first public museums, before once again serving as an imperial residence and finally as the place where the Austrian State Treaty was signed. A baroque palace and 800 years of art history – today the Upper Belvedere is the most visited art museum in Austria, with masterpieces by Klimt, Schiele, Funke, Monet, Rodin and van Gogh.

One of the highlights is, of course, the world’s largest collection of Gustav Klimt paintings, which we would like to introduce to you. Special events and individual guided tours let you immerse yourself in the artist’s world, one of the most important painters in Austria and the best-known representative of Viennese Art Nouveau, founding president of the Vienna Secession, and creator of the world-famous painting “The Kiss”.