Klimt's 'Golden Phase' was marked by positive critical reaction
and success. Many of his paintings from this period used gold
leaf; the prominent use of gold can first be traced back to
Pallas Athene (1898) and Judith I (1901), although the works
most popularly associated with this period are the Portrait of
Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907) and The Kiss (1907-1908). Klimt
travelled little but trips to Venice and Ravenna, both famous
for their beautiful mosaics, most likely inspired his gold
technique and his Byzantine imagery. In 1904, he collaborated
with other artists on the lavish Palais Stoclet, the home of a
wealthy Belgian industrialist, which was one of the grandest
monuments of the Art Nouveau age. Klimt's contributions to the
dining room, including both Fulfillment and Expectation, were
some of his finest decorative work, and as he publicly stated,
"probably the ultimate stage of my development of ornament."
Between 1907 and 1909, Klimt painted five canvases of society
women wrapped in fur. His apparent lo