The painting was commissioned by the municipal court of Vienna in 1887 to commemorate the last performance which took place in October 12, 19888.  Several versions were made by Klimt, but this one won the Emperor's Prize -- The Golden Order of Merit. 

   The image was painted on a gouache cardboard with such precision that there seems to be perfect perspective dimension.  It should be noted that in those days, there was no technology to take pictures of the entire place in a single frame. This means Klimt could not have copied a photograph of the theater. In fact, it is said that Klimt had to base his painting on measurements he took of the auditorium. 

   He was given a seasons ticket to the auditorium and used it to watch every play that was performed.  Scholars don't know whether he went there to take in the image of the auditorium so he could paint it, or because he enjoyed the performances.  Whatever it is, he was able to capture the the beauty of the auditorium itself as well as the faces of almost 250 prominent theater-goers.  Aside from that, there is a multitude of faces in the painting which scholars say Klimt fashioned out of the faces of his brothers and sisters. 

   With this painting, Klimt again plays with reality: instead of the audience watching the performance, Klimt reverses their roles so that we, the painting-viewer, can watch the audience.
 
   At the young age of 26, Klimt received his first honor when Emperor Franz Joseph handed him the Golden Cross for Artistic Merit (sometimes referred to as "The Golden Order of Merit") for this painting.  This single honor, raised Klimt to the level of the masters.  Despite this, his future works would meet with disapproval from the Viennese public.