How did Gustav Klimt die?
The documented facts of his last weeks: the stroke of January 11, hospitalization, pneumonia, death of February 6 and the works left in the workshop.
A brutal death, but a precise chronology
Gustav Klimt did not die in his studio, brush in hand, nor suddenly during a social evening. On the morning of January 11, 1918, while dressing in his apartment at Westbahnstrasse 36 in Vienna, he was struck by a stroke. The attack caused paralysis on one side of the body.
The file published by the Leopold Museum indicates that Klimt keeps his word. Relatives, including Emilie Flöge, Erich Lederer and Rudolf Zimpel, visit him. His condition initially appears to improve slightly, but prolonged immobility, decubitus sores and a lung infection complicate the situation.
On February 3, he was transferred to Professor Gerhard Riehl's clinic in the Vienna General Hospital. Pneumonia described as "flu" or "flu-like" in ancient sources adds to the consequences of stroke. Klimt died on February 6, 1918 around six in the morning.
From January 11 to February 6, 1918
The documentation makes it possible to distinguish five stages, without inventing a modern diagnosis beyond what the testimonies and archives establish.
Stroke at the Viennese home. Klimt is paralyzed on one side, but remains able to speak.
He was first taken to a private establishment in the ninth arrondissement. Relatives visit him.
His condition requires transfer to a clinic at Vienna General Hospital.
Serious lung infection adds to the neurological consequences and weakening.
Klimt dies in the morning. He was buried three days later in Hietzing Cemetery.
What we know about stroke
The German word used in the sources, Schlaganfall, corresponds to a stroke. Records do not allow us to specify with certainty, according to current medical criteria, whether it was a cerebral infarction or hemorrhage.
Paralysis on one side of the body indicates severe neurological damage. The fact that speech remained possible does not mean that the accident was benign: the functions affected vary depending on the area of the brain concerned.
A vulnerable organism
Immobility after a serious stroke promotes respiratory, circulatory and skin complications. In 1918, modern antibiotics did not yet exist. Pneumonia can therefore quickly become fatal, especially in an already weakened patient.
Three levels not to be confused
To answer correctly, one must distinguish the initial event, the immediate consequences and the final complication.
Stroke
It occurs on January 11, causes hemiplegia and leads to hospitalization. This is the decisive break in Klimt's state of health.
Solidly documented factParalysis and weakening
Long immobilization exposes you to numerous complications. Sources mention in particular wounds linked to decubitus.
Documented clinical contextPneumonia
A serious lung infection appears during hospitalization. It aggravates a condition already compromised by stroke.
Terminal cause retained by several sourcesDid Klimt die of the Spanish flu?
The cautious answer is no: there is not sufficient evidence to directly attribute his death to the so-called "Spanish" flu pandemic.
What the sources say
Klimt suffered a stroke on January 11, 1918. He then developed pneumonia during his hospitalization and died on February 6. A historical file uses the German expression influenza Lungenentzündung, which can be translated as influenza pneumonia.
What not to conclude
The term "flu" is not enough to retrospectively identify the virus of the 1918 pandemic. The big European waves occur later in the year. Egon Schiele died of the flu in October 1918.
The last workshop after the painter's death
Since 1911, Klimt has worked in a garden house in Hietzing, at Feldmühlgasse 11. The place is at once a refuge, a work space and a meeting point. He created around fifty paintings and hundreds of drawings there.
After his death, Moriz Nähr photographed the workshop. In one of the most important photos, The bride and The Fan Woman appear on their easels. Photography documents not only the works, but also their scale, condition and material neighborhood.
Why this image is crucial
It avoids transforming the last paintings into an abstract list. They were still present in an active workshop, surrounded by objects, frames and work in progress. Klimt's death interrupts a process, it does not properly close a series.
Eight tables to understand the end of a career
Some works directly address death and the cycle of life. Others mainly testify to work brutally interrupted in 1918.
1910 -1911, remodeled until 1916Life and DeathDeath observes a compact group where childhood, love, motherhood and old age mingle. Klimt reworked the allegory several times before 1918.
See the work →
around 1899Old man on his deathbedLong before his own disappearance, Klimt painted a fragile body on the verge of death. This sober work contrasts with the image of a purely decorative painter.
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1917 -1918, unfinishedThe brideThe last major allegorical project, the canvas remains wide open. The figures seem to emerge in stages, which makes the creative process visible.
See the work →
1917 - 1918The Fan WomanVery advanced at the time of Klimt's death, this composition combines face, fan, flowers and birds in a dazzling late surface.
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1917 -1918, unfinishedPortrait of Amalie ZuckerkandlThe face and bust are worked, while the background and certain areas of the garment remain incomplete. The painting preserves the trace of the construction site.
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1917 -1918, unfinishedPortrait of Johanna StaudeThe blue of the background, the graphic blouse and the red mouth announce a new chromatic freedom. Incompletion does not prevent a very strong presence.
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1917 -1918, unfinishedAdam and EveThe figure of Eve is much more advanced than that of Adam. The canvas shows how Klimt prioritized his work areas and flesh effects.
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1917 -1918, unfinishedLady in WhiteThe clear figure stands out against reserves and brightly colored passages. The painting belongs to the group of portraits left in progress in 1918.
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Klimt's last face drawn at the morgue
After Klimt's death, Egon Schiele went to the mortuary chamber of the General Hospital. He made three drawings of the painter's head. Klimt's beard had been shaved, a transformation that struck Schiele to the point that he said he had difficulty recognizing him.
The drawing seeks neither gold nor icon. It records a thin, motionless face, rendered by a few nervous lines. It is both a document and a farewell gesture from a younger artist to one he considered a major figure in Viennese modernity.
The historical parallel is striking: Schiele in turn died on October 31, 1918, from the flu, three days after his wife Edith. This time, the link with the pandemic is clearly established.
Klimt's tomb in Hietzing
Gustav Klimt was buried three days after his death in the Hietzing cemetery, in the thirteenth district of Vienna. His grave is in group 5, number 194, not far from the district where his last workshop was located.
The burial is sober: a light stone bears his name and dates. This simplicity contrasts with the profusion of his golden paintings, but corresponds quite well to the man photographed in a blouse, resistant to official representations of the artist as a great public figure.
The cemetery and Villa Klimt can today be integrated into a route dedicated to the painter in the west of Vienna. For the visit, a distinction must be made between the preserved and restored workplace and the Westbahnstrasse apartment where the stroke occurred.
This allows us to reconstruct the facts
Medical details should be read from museum chronologies, archival records and cited testimonies, not fictionalized accounts.
Stroke on January 11, pneumonia in hospital and death on February 6, 1918.
Consult the source → LEOPOLD MUSEUMStaechelin historical fileAddress, paralysis, visits, February 3 transfer, pneumonia and time of death.
Consult the source → BELVEDEREIN-SIGHT: Gustav KlimtLast workshop, testimonies and context of The Bride Left Unfinished.
Consult the source → LEOPOLD MUSEUMPhotography of The BrideNotice of Moriz Nähr's photograph and condition of the last large painting.
Consult the source → LEOPOLD MUSEUMLife and DeathDates, rearrangements, composition, provenance and presentation of the allegory.
Consult the source → KLIMT FOUNDATIONHietzing's workshopHistory of Feldmühlgasse 11 and the works created in the last workshop.
Consult the source → CDCThe three waves of the pandemicThe first documented wave began in the spring of 1918, then the deadliest wave occurred in the fall.
Consult the source →Continue around Klimt
These selections allow you to compare the latest works, Viennese portraits, the golden period and the Belvedere collection.
Portraits, allegories, landscapes and large decorative motifs.
Explore →FACES OF VIENNAPortraits of KlimtFrom the first commissions to the unfinished portraits of 1918.
Explore →GOLD AND MOSAICThe golden periodWorks where the surface becomes precious and symbolic.
Explore →VIENNA MUSEUMBelvedere GalleryThe Kiss, Adam and Eve and Austrian modernity.
Explore →Questions about the death of Gustav Klimt
What caused Gustav Klimt's death?
He suffered a serious stroke on January 11, 1918. Pneumonia contracted during hospitalization then worsened his condition. He died on February 6.
How old was Gustav Klimt when he died?
He was 55 years old. Born July 14, 1862, he died February 6, 1918, several months before his 56th birthday.
Did Klimt die of the Spanish flu?
There is not sufficient evidence to support this. Sources document stroke followed by pneumonia. The great European pandemic wave occurred later in 1918.
Where did Gustav Klimt die?
He died at the Vienna General Hospital after being transferred to the clinic of Professor Gerhard Riehl.
Where is Gustav Klimt buried?
At the Hietzing cemetery in Vienna, group 5, grave number 194.
What works did Klimt leave unfinished?
Late interrupted works include The Bride, Adam and Eve, Portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl, Portrait of Johanna Staude and Lady in White.
Who drew Klimt after his death?
Egon Schiele makes three drawings of Klimt's head in the mortuary chamber of the Vienna General Hospital.
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