In Vienna, argue about the authorship of an accidentally found mural

Art historians argue about the authorship of the recently found in the garage in Vienna fresco "Trumpeting Putto", attributed earlier to the brush of Gustav Klimt (Gustav Klimt, 1862-1918). According to some experts, the author of this work is the brother of the artist, Ernst (Ernst Klimt, 1864-1892), according to the English The Guardian.

Researchers believe that the fresco, with a diagonal of 1.7 meters, adorned the ceiling in Vienna’s Ernst apartment, where Gustav lived from 1883 to 1892. In 1980, the building was renovated, the frescoes disappeared. And only recently, one of them was accidentally discovered. The new owner of the work, whose name was not disclosed, intends to restore it and put it up for auction in the fall.

As the main argument in favor of the hypothesis that Ernst Klimt is the author of the painting, the specialist in the field of the artist’s work, the deputy director of the Belvedere Museum, Alfred Vaydinger, indicates that the work was not signed. The similarity in the manner of writing with the work written by Ernst in the Mondsee palace near Salzburg is also indicated. Weidinger believes that at best, the fresco is co-authored by the brothers.

A few days ago, on July 14, the world celebrated the 150th anniversary of Gustav Klimt, who is considered the pioneer of modernism in art. In connection with this anniversary, a number of events and exhibitions can be visited in Vienna today.

Anna Sidorova