The History Behind âThe Woman in Goldâ
Easily one of my favourite paintings, by one of my most favourite artists, Klimtâs painting âAdele Bloch-Bauerâs Portraitâ is well-known for many reasons. Clearly seen it was created in Klimtâs âgolden phase,â this painting is so striking not just for itâs beauty, but also its long and tragic history.
Adele Bloch-Bauer and her husband, Ferdinand Bloch, were close friends with the artist, Gustav Klimt. She modeled for Klimt on numerous occasions, and Ferdinand commissioned two portraits of his wife. The married couple were well-known lovers of art. Adele would entertain many artists at their home - from musicians to painters. The Bloch-Bauerâs were a prominent Jewish family in Viennese society. This is precisely why they were targeted by Nazis in the 1940âs. The Bloch-Bauerâs home was emptied of its beautiful and loved possessions - including Adele Bloch-Bauerâs portrait. Of course, no Nazi could have the portrait of a Jewish woman hanging in their home, so her name was erased from the paintingâs history and instead given the title âWoman in Gold.â
Eventually the painting was collected by the Austrian state gallery, and became one of Austriaâs artistic âGolden Ageâ symbols. Her story does not end here, because years later, in 2000, Adeleâs niece - Maria Viktoria Bloch-Bauer (Maria Altman) - sued Austria for the ownership of the painting. Maria remembered visiting her auntâs and uncleâs home throughout her childhood. After Adele died, their visits included a viewing of the gorgeous golden portrait. While Maria later fled Austria and settled in America with her husband, she eventually returned decades later after being told that the painting was rightfully hers. In Adeleâs will she had asked that her husband donate her paintings to the gallery, yet in her husbandâs will he had left them to his family. After years and years of court hearings and trials, Maria finally won back the painting.
Adele Bloch-Bauerâs portrait now sits in a Manhattan gallery, after being purchased for $135 million (US). This portrait was just one of many that was looted during World War II. Thankfully, the history of the painting, the subject, and her family have the recognition they deserve. Itâs tragic that so many pieces of art and family heirlooms are still lost because of the prejudices and crimes of those that abused their power. Those organizations not only wiped out families, but also sought to destroy any memory of them.
Movies and interviews have been made to show people the history of this famous painting, such as âStealing Klimtâ (2007), and the film âWoman in Goldâ (2015) which I both highly recommend.
Above: Adele Bloch-Bauerâs Portrait (Woman in Gold, Adele Bloch-Bauer I.), 1907, by Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)
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