painted in 1895 and is an allegoric representation of music. Here the central figures are a robed woman holding a lyre, and a sphinx on the right. A Silenus mask on the left is partially obscured by the contemplative woman. Music is one of his earliest paintings and was painted in the Jugendstil or youthful style of the Art Nouveau that was so popular in the late 19th century.

Greek tycoon and patron of the arts, Nikolaus Dumba commissioned Gustav Klimt to decorate two rooms in the Palais Dumba, Vienna. Music was tailored for painting over the door of the music room. Typical of Klimt’s paintings, Music was decorative and allegorical. The lyre is a symbol of music, and the sphinx is a symbol of artistic freedom. The lion’s teeth at the centre denote the spread of new ideas. Gustav Klimt portrayed many influences in his paintings including Classical Greek, Minoan and Egyptian mythologies, and the engravings of Albrecht Dürer.