Gustav Klimt was an Austrian painter known for his highly decorative style. After studying at the Vienna School of Decorative Arts, Klimt opened a studio specializing in the execution of mural paintings. His early work had a classical style that was typical of late 19th-century academic painting. Klimt’s mature style emerged when he founded the Vienna Secession, a group of painters who revolted against academic art in favor of a highly decorative style. Klimt’s most successful works include The Kiss and a series of portraits of Viennese matrons. In these works he treats the human figure without shadow and heightens the lush sensuality of skin by surrounding it with areas of flat, highly ornamental, brilliantly composed areas of decoration.