Gustav Klimt * "Portrait of a Woman in a Golden Dress"


   This week I give you some heavy eye candy!  This is probably a poor choice as there are a lot of unknowns about this painting, possibly more unknowns than knowns.  But this painting has always interested me.
   I first learned of Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) as a student, many years ago, but it wasn't until recent reading that one author called a spade a spade. He acknowledged that Klimt was not a major artist, he broke no ground, did not further any art movement.  He just made pretty pictures.  
 But, his paintings were so "pretty" Hitler and the Nazi's snatched them up and held on, thus creating new post war conflicts on ownership.
   Klimt's family was in the gold business, so it was a natural extension for him to incorporate the metal into paintings, of which this painting is a prime example.  Our figure is positioned straight center, and looking out at us. Obviously, her beautiful porcelain skin has never seen the light of day, and she looks very composed, pleasant and comfortable.  Her dark hair frames the face and that amazing hat crowns it all.  Notice the triangle that points down to the tips of her fingers.  Also, blow up the image enough to see the detail in the white gown, amazing.   
    Now what we don't know:  this is definitely a Klimt, or at least started by him.  However credit is also given to his brother, Ernest and Franz Matsch and the studio.   Only guessing, I would suggest Klimt created the drawing, probably the face, arm and major lines of the costume; then others assisted in "filling in", executing, the remainder.  But I do not know.  
    "Portrait of a Woman in a Golden Dress" was painted between 1886 and 1887.  It is an oil on canvas and is in a private collection.   I was not able to discover the name of the woman portrayed. 
   Make Art a part of your life, it's a beautiful thing to do. 

Comments

  1. Charlotte HarguthMay 24, 2022 at 10:44 AM

    All that glitters IS gold in this painting! He may not have been a major artist, but his skill cannot be denied. The composition is interesting as you pointed out. The fabric designs are exquisite, and I can feel the texture just looking at them. She does look calm and confident and not ready for any serious dialogue!! Even though Klimt was not part of an art movement, the designs in his other works are quite unique. I don't know what her crown represents other than high style and a prominent life. The lavender-colored cloak lining seems so important; it connects the wall on the side and the sky tones and gives a bolder look to her total figure A different painting for sure, just like "The Kiss". The variety you choose is fun!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wayne Thiebaud, Sunset Streets

Image
   In giving title to this landscape, California artist, Wayne Thiebaud not only provides the location, but also the time of day.  Knowing that Thiebaud is a California artist provides the last clue to guessing the probably location.  Smartly, The San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art purchased this painting for its permanent collection in 1986, a year after it was completed.  Sunset Streets is an oil on canvas measuring 48" x 35".      Wayne Thiebaud was born in 1920 and resides in California. He is one of several artists creating a distinct California aesthetic using heavy pigment and exaggerated color.   He is best known for his commonplace objects, figures, and landscapes. of which this is a perfect example.    The composition of this work is amazing.  Right down the center, at a slight tilt is this blue-black stripe, K shape, beginning with a heavy base and capped with a large triangle of sorts.  The painting is a geometry lover's dream, completely dedicated to ever
Read more

Nature Abhors A Vacuum, Helen Frankenthraller

Image
  Today let us look at an acrylic painting on canvas by American artist Helen Frankenthraller (1928-2011).    Nature Abhors a Vacuum is a huge work of art measuring 103" high, 112" wide.  This is over 8 feet high and 9 feet long!  You can stand next to it at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.; and to do so would completely immerse yourself in this huge spread of color.   Nature Abhors a Vacuum was painted in 1973 and is a perfect example of a school of painting Frankenthraller helped develop called color field painting.  Here she stretched raw unprimed canvas on the floor and poured thinned acrylic paint on it.  In doing so she created floating fields of translucent color.  Being that the canvas was raw, the paint stuck to the fabric more like it was dyed, than brushed on. It was an exciting and new process!    Our title, Nature Abhors a Vacuum  immediately indicates a landscape, however I think it a disservice to confine our reaction to so simple an understan
Read more

Egon Schiele, "Port of Trieste"

Image
     Future of this blog is in question as I may have to take off a few weeks for my viewership is down for the summer.   Also, this past week I lost a dear viewer, but, at the present, as long as I have images to show and my dear friend, Char is still with me this blog will go on.    I have showed you a Egon Schiele (1990-1918) landscape before this one, but it has been a while.  I am not drawn to a large majority of his work, but his landscapes are always a unique experience.  This one attracted my attention because of the color and then the media.  It is an oil and pencil on cardboard.  Give that some thought.    Today's cardboard is not considered a suitable surface to work on or even mount a paper on because of the acidity, but hopefully in 1907 cardboard was constructed differently.      I do not work in oils.  It is a marvelous media but it does have a distinctive odor and it takes months for it to dry completely.  So oil and pencil?  I am interested to read what Char has to
Read more