The Austrian artist Gustav Klimt's (1862-1918) lavish, sexual paintings came to symbolize the art nouveau style of the late 19th and early 20th century. Klimt’s kaleidoscopic paintings are a combination of sensuality, expressiveness and passion--and, like his own life, mirror his obsession with women. Far ahead of his time, he was celebrated in Paris and damned at home in Vienna as a provocateur. Klimt lived his life like he painted it. His models were his muses and these love affairs bore approximately 30 children. Klimt’s struggle for artistic freedom matched his passion for Lea de Castro, a French dancer and actress, who became his muse and the personification of his carnal desires.