Post- impressionism is an art style after Impressionism in which the artists of that same period added more dimensions to the visual effects of the impressionists. Impressionism is an art form where impressionists tried to capture an idea of what the eye sees at a given moment and the effect of sunlight on the object. We have known French (and non-French) artists during these two art periods, such as Cezanne, Gauguin, van Gogh, Seurat, Toulouse- Lautrec, Manet, Pissarro, Degas, Sisley, Monet, and Renoir, but there is one painting either from post- impressionism or impressionism. The name of that painting is Adele Bloch- Bauer I.
Adele Bloch- Bauer I was painted by an Austrian artist, Gustav Klimt. Gustav Klimt was born in 1862 in Vienna and received his education at Vienna’s School of Fine Arts. He first had a career in decorating the ceiling of the grand staircase at the Burg Theater. His murals for the theater included a variety of historical references and naturalistic portraits of the city’s most famous citizens. For his great work, he was presented with awards and great fame. Gustav Klimt made sketches of Adele Bloch- Bauer I, which took him less than four years. Later in his life, Klimt created Adele Bloch- Bauer I in 1907 in a rare “gold style”, which took him many months. The clothes of wealthy wives and daughters that had luxuriant patterns inspired him. The canvas was 55 1/8 x 55 1/8 in (140 x 140cm). The portrait of Adele Bloch- Bauer I became one of his best known and unique paintings, in which it shows her as the wife of a Viennese banker and industrialist, Ferdinand Bloch- Bauer.
There were other paintings Gustav Klimt created besides Adele Bloch- Bauer I. They were Adele Bloch- Bauer II, Apple Tree I, Beech Woods, and Houses in Unterach on Lake Atter. Adele Bloch- Bauer II was made in 1912 and was 190 x 120cm. Apple Tree I was produced in 1911 or 1912 in which the canvas was 109 x 110cm. Both Beech Woods and Houses in Unterach on Lake Atter’s canvas were 110 x 110cm.
From the portrait of Adele Bloch- Bauer I, there are some facts that you probably had never expected it to see. The first fact about this painting is that the woman formed her hands into a graceful position because Adele Bloch- Bauer I had a deformed finger. Gustav Klimt used different types of media to create different textures for his masterpiece, such as the gold and silver pieces that makes the portrait stand out. If you did not notice, the figures in the middle of her luxurious dress looked like Egyptian eyes. The rare “gold style” makes Klimt’s picture more elegant, graceful, and represents the ideal of feminine beauty. Even though Adele Bloch- Bauer I had a deformed finger, the way her hands were placed gracefully distracts people from seeing or knowing it.
It is kind of hard to tell which art period this self portrait of Adele Bloch- Bauer I came from. From the information that I had received, it was between impressionism and post- impressionism. When this painting was stolen during World War II, it had to be brought to justice. Luckily Maria Altmann, Ferdinand Bloch- Bauer’s niece, helped solve the case and found it along with four of Klimt’s other paintings. Sadly, Gustav Klimt died on February 6, 1918, at the age of 56, but he is well- known for his best portrait, Adele Bloch- Bauer I.
Recently, Adele Bloch- Bauer II will probably sell for a $135 million to the Neue Galerie, a small New York museum founded by cosmetic billionaire Ronald S. Lauder. Four other paintings are anticipated to sell for $150 million together. Who knows how much Adele Block- Bauer I will sell for.
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