The Beethoven Frieze: The Longing for Happiness. Left wall 1902

"The Beethoven Frieze: The Longing for Happiness. Left Wall" (1902) by Gustav Klimt, is part of a monumental work which celebrates the composer Ludwig van Beethoven. This left section of the frieze features a depiction of three nude women, representing the idea of "Longing." Klimt’s use of a gold-leaf background and linear forms, as well as the subject matter of the artwork, place it within the larger context of the Viennese Secession movement, a style that broke with traditional academic art and embraced decorative patterns, symbolism, and the decorative. The work is located in the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, Austria.