Our artist of the month for July is Gustav Klimt. I like his style and love the use of gold leaf in his paintings in his “golden phase”.
I particularly like “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer 1” which was the subject of a recent film starring Dame Helen Mirren.
“Woman in Gold” is a true story and tells how Maria Altmann, a Viennese born resident of Los Angeles battled the Austrian authorities for ownership of the eponymous Klimt painting of her aunt, stolen from her Jewish family by the Nazis just prior to World War 2.
Altmann took her battle all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States which ruled in her favour in 2004. In the film Klimt is played by Moritz Bleibtreu and Antje Traue is Adele.
The reproduction of the portrait was painted by scenic artist Steve Mitchell, who spent 5 weeks making the re-creation. I missed the film when it was released into cinemas earlier this year and I’m now waiting for it to come out on DVD. Not long to go now as the release date has been announced as 3 August.
Val Racher: Rachers on Canvas: July Blog
IMAGE CREDIT: Gustav Klimt: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer 1
