Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907)
by Gustav Klimt
Materials used: oil, gold, silver on canvas
Can be viewed at the Neue Galerie in New York
In this iconic painting by Gustav Klimt, there are many symbols and perhaps hidden meanings in the piece. As we know from history, Adele Bloch-Bauer came from a very wealthy and prominent jewish family in Vienna where Klimt was based. I believe that Klimt wanted to highlight very specific attributes in Bloch-Bauer that represented her. There are many details that pertain to the beauty of femininity and strength. Her positioning and facial features show a sense of strength and wisdom. The gold and silver, precious metals, perhaps represent wealth and prominence.
There is also a very obvious look of mystery and depth in her dark eyes painted on the canvas. Perhaps alluding to being misunderstood.
I personally chose this painting as my inspiration for my self portrait because I’ve loved it ever since I can remember. It has forever been one of my favorite paintings. It became especially more important to me once I saw the film, Woman in Gold, where they depicted Bloch-Bauer’s life and the struggle of getting the art back to its rightful owner. I connect myself to the portrait because of its defining interest in feminine beauty as well as showing off her power and distinction as a woman socialite of her time.
Real and Fake Attributes:
- Fear, mystery, good friend, lover, sometimes negative, sometimes afraid, passionate, poor, don’t know how to pay for education, love the finer things in life, wish everything would be simpler.
- Optimist, bright side always, believe in myself, confident, positive perception of memories, honesty always.
In this portrait, I put images around myself that either represent me or are false. In the original Klimt painting, he portrays Adele Bloch-Bauer in a graceful and powerful stance, so I put myself in that pose. I used copper leaf and copper colored acrylic paint to create my background and incorporated some of the copper in the garment. The portrait is pasted on to this illustration board so sort of a collage as well. This portrait was done with colored pencil, ink, paint, and pen. So, I would categorize this piece as very multimedia. You can learn through this portrait that I believe in women’s rights, I am a Capricorn, I love nature and rubies, I love to be creative with art and makeup, and that maybe that I am homesick or sad at this difficult moment in my life. Some things that are not true being that I love the night, or that I am violent, or that I am vain.
This is a scan of my original work so that saturation is slightly enhanced due to the bright lights and rays.
