Adele Bloch-Bauer is the only woman whom Austrian artist Gustav Klimt painted twice. The two portraits include the first, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I completed in 1907 with extensive gold leaf, and the second, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II, created with vibrant colors. These two distinctively different paintings represent the evolution of Klimt's artistic style, with the first often referred to as the “Mona Lisa of Austria”.
Adele was born in 1881 into Vienna's privileged upper class. Her father was a director in finance and the railroad companies. At the age of 19, she married Austrian sugar magnate Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, whose family was also a supporter of the arts. Ferdinand commissioned Klimt to paint a portrait of his young wife as a wedding anniversary gift for her parents.
To create this portrait, Klimt meticulously produced about 200 sketches, showcasing his dedication to the work. The final piece features a rich background of gold leaf and Eastern-inspired motifs, including geometric shapes like eyes, triangles, and circles. Adele sits elegantly in the painting, wearing a golden off-shoulder gown. This loose, flowing style, which lacked a corset, was worn only by progressive middle-class women at the time. Her face carries a faint blush, exuding a mix of fragility and pride. Her hands are clasped in a slightly unnatural manner, as one of her fingers was deformed. She often posed in a way that concealed this physical imperfection when modeling.
This portrait, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, is considered one of the masterpieces of the Art Nouveau movement. However, it has had a tumultuous fate. After Germany's occupation of Austria in 1938, the painting disappeared from public view, only to resurface after World War II at the Austrian Gallery Belvedere in Vienna. In 2006, following a lengthy legal battle, the portrait was returned to the direct descendants of Adele. The legal process was later adapted into the film Woman in Gold.
However, due to the high insurance and maintenance costs, the painting was sold for a staggering $135 million. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I set the record for the most expensive painting ever sold at the time. It was purchased by Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetics company, founder, and curator of the Neue Galerie New York, where it is displayed for the public.
Viennese historian and exhibition participant Tobias Natter described the painting as “a golden symphony, a unique symbol, a triumph of art”.
