Shooting for a movie featuring John Malkovich as Austrian art nouveau painter Gustav Klimt began Tuesday in Vienna, Austria, a publicity company said.
"Klimt," directed by Raoul Ruiz, will have a dispute about paintings commissioned by the state as a central theme. It also will focus on Klimt's struggle for artistic freedom and on his personal relationships, including his lifelong, platonic friendship with Emilie Floege, played by Veronica Ferres.
Filming in Vienna will continue until the end of the month and then will move to Cologne, Germany, a news release said.
Klimt, who was born in 1862 and died in 1918, was one of the founders of Vienna's modernist Secession movement. During his lifetime, he was considered controversial at home, while the art scene in Paris praised his works. "The Kiss" is among his masterpieces.