Adele Bloch-Bauer II
Gustav Klimt – Adele Bloch-Bauer II
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Download full size: 1943×3096 px (1,3 Mb)
Painter: Gustav Klimt
Location: Galerie Belvedere, Wien.
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Gustav is an Austrian artist. The second portrait of Adele, Gustav painted in 1912. This painting is one of the ten most expensive art masterpieces in the world. What is the history of this model? Adele Bloch - Bauer was the wife of Ferdinand Bloch - Bauer, who was one very wealthy industrialist at the time. Ferdinand loved art and sponsored various kinds of art, including art. Therefore, Gustav received material funds from Ferdinand because of his creative personality.
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Description of Gustav Klimt’s Second Portrait of Adele
Gustav is an Austrian artist. The second portrait of Adele, Gustav painted in 1912. This painting is one of the ten most expensive art masterpieces in the world. What is the history of this model? Adele Bloch - Bauer was the wife of Ferdinand Bloch - Bauer, who was one very wealthy industrialist at the time.
Ferdinand loved art and sponsored various kinds of art, including art. Therefore, Gustav received material funds from Ferdinand because of his creative personality. Adele was painted by Gustave twice, an isolated incident in his artistic life. From this we can conclude that Ferdinand sponsored him very well.
Description of the painting. The face, as well as Adele’s hands, are painted exclusively in cold tones, which gives the painting a realistic feel. They are the visual dominant feature in the awareness and perception of the painting by the human eye. The ornamental description of the other elements of the model, distinguish and set apart the hands and face from the overall picture. The composition can be divided into two parts.
The right side of the painting depicts Adele herself, while the left side conceals a hint, only a small hint, of the interior. The left part of the painting is almost empty and allows one to plunge into a world of imagination. There is another part of the painting, the bottom one. It is filled with the hem of Adélie’s dress.
Gustave chose to depict flatness rather than the perspective of depth in this model. The entire space (the dress, the walls, the chair) is displaced by the golden background. Therefore, this space looks exclusively like two-dimensional figures next to Adele.
If you examine the painting in detail, you can see a woman, with an elegant figure, sitting on an armchair. The entire vertical of the canvas is occupied by this woman, leaving no more space for anything else. The light colors are accentuated by the contrast of Adélie’s black hair and her large, out-of-proportion red mouth. The woman’s gaze is fixed on the viewer, increasing the visual appeal. And Adele’s hands are held in front of her breasts.
The dress accentuates the woman’s figure and is tight. On top of the dress is a shawl, flowing from the hands down the picture. This part of the painting is also dominated by the tones of gold. A wide band of triangles (a double row) and a thin hem of rectangles add beauty and originality to the neckline of Adelie’s dress.
The cape contains a spiral ornament, figures resembling leaves and slightly noticeable folds. It is slightly lighter than the tones of the dress. The chair is in gold tones. It is emphasized exclusively through the spiral pattern. The overall scheme is given a color accent, with the help of a fragment of the floor in green shades. Also this fragment gives more stability to the model.
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The background is characterized by a dense, decorative arrangement of forms and colors. To the left, within a recessed area framed by architectural elements, are depictions of what appear to be children engaged in playful activities. On the right side, similar figures are visible, though less distinct. These groupings are rendered with a flattened perspective and a vibrant palette of reds, yellows, and greens, creating a sense of lively movement that contrasts with the stillness of the central figure.
The immediate foreground is dominated by an abundance of stylized floral motifs in shades of green, pink, blue, and white. The flowers appear to grow directly from the ground, blurring the boundary between the woman’s feet and the surrounding landscape. This integration suggests a connection between the subject and nature, albeit one mediated through artistic representation.
The color scheme is predominantly cool – greens and whites are dominant – but punctuated by warmer tones in the background figures and floral details. The use of gold leaf adds a subtle shimmer to the composition, enhancing its luxurious quality.
Subtly, there’s an interplay between confinement and freedom. While the womans posture and attire suggest a certain societal constraint, her placement within this lush, almost overgrown environment hints at a desire for liberation or a connection to something beyond conventional boundaries. The children in the background could be interpreted as symbols of innocence, vitality, or perhaps even lost opportunities. Ultimately, the painting evokes a sense of quiet introspection, inviting contemplation on themes of identity, societal expectations, and the complexities of human experience.