It took Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) three years to complete the ‘Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I’ (1903-06), commissioned by her husband Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, measuring 138cm into 138cm in Vienna. This was the first of his two portraits of Adele, the second one was painted in 1912 and titled as ‘Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II’. The painting has been considered his most famous work from the golden phase and is painted in oil and gold showing intricate and splendid ornamentation in Jugendstil (the artistic style that was developed in Germany in the mid-1890s).

In his life time, Klimit was considered a rebel and his work was constantly criticised for being too sensual and his symbolism very deviant. He was influenced by the Impressionists in Paris and later by the works of Matisse and Picasso. The painting has been on display at Neue Galerie, New York since 2006. — M.I.