#floege

Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Emilie Flöege, circa 1902.

'Gustav Klimt never married, although he had numerous affairs and reports variously claim he fathered three, fourteen, twenty, or forty illegitimate children. His longest and closest relationship with a woman might not have even been sexual.

'Emilie Flöge met Klimt in the early 1890s when her sister Helene married his brother Ernst. The marriage was cut short by Ernst's untimely death, and Helene returned to her family's house with her young daughter, who had been entrusted to Gustav's guardianship.

'In 1904, the three Flöge sisters established a fashion house and became Vienna's leading couturiers. By adapting Paris fashions to local tastes and designing their own clothes, the sisters dressed the most elegant – and wealthiest – women in Austria. Klimt contribued to Flöge designs and help decorate their showroom.

'Meanwhile, Emilie and Gustav became inseparable companions. Many biographers and experts doubt they had an affair. Emilie prided herself on her modernity – she built her own business, designed her own clothes and lived life on her own terms. Klimt seems to have recognized her as an equal. So close were the two that after his stroke, Klimt whispered, 'Send for Emilie.' Those were the last words he would speak.'