Gustav Klimt, the most expensive portrait ever up for auction: 76 million euros

Gustav Klimt’s (1862-1918) last portrait will be auctioned at Sotheby’s in London on Tuesday, June 27 with an estimate of £65 million ($80 million, €76 million), the highest ever in Europe: it is «The lady with the fan» («Dame mit Fächer»). Q

hen Gustav Klimt died unexpectedly one day in February 1918, the painting was still on the easel in his studio. This means, in all likelihood, that it is the last portrait he ever made, and a work of the highest quality, representative of the exuberant and eccentric style of the late Klimt,” explained a Sotheby’s spokesperson.

«Lady with a fan» is also considered one of Klimt’s most beautiful works, created when he was still in his prime and at a time when the «formality» of his previous commissioned works gave way to a new expressiveness – an ever deeper and more joyful dive into drawing, color and form, which – while clearly influenced by his contemporaries Van Gogh, Matisse and Gauguin – becomes something completely different in the hands of the Austrian painter.

Similarly, while the slightly earlier works of Klimt’s famous “golden age”, headed by the iconic portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I of 1907, see the protagonist presented as an icon, in the midst to a tapestry of golden shapes, in this case the figure almost dissolves into the background, while the soft texture of the woman’s skin repeats itself against the pale yellow background.

The story of the masterpiece
The painting was acquired shortly after Klimt’s death by the Viennese industrialist Erwin Böhler. The Böhler family, which included Erwin’s brother Heinrich and cousin Hans, were friends and patrons of Klimt and Egon Schiele. The work later passed to Heinrich and then, upon his death in 1940, to Heinrich’s wife Mabel. As of 1967 the painting was in the collection of Rudolf Leopold, who is known to have purchased a large group of Schiele drawings from Mabel Böhler in 1952 and may have purchased this work from her as well. «Lady with a fan» was last put up for sale almost thirty years ago, in 1994, when it was bought by the current owner’s family. The portrait was recently the subject of an important exhibition at the Belvedere in Vienna, where it was brought together and presented together with Klimt’s other great late masterpieces. The exhibition of the painting in Sotheby’s New Bond Street galleries later this month will mark an important moment for Klimt lovers in London, with three major portraits of the artist displayed simultaneously in the capital for the first time ever (The Other Portraits , Hermine Gallia from 1904 and Adele Bloch Bauer II from 1912, are currently on display in the National Gallery’s acclaimed After Impressionism exhibition).
Creation in 1917
Klimt began working on the “Lady with a fan” in 1917, by which time he was one of the most famous portrait painters in Europe: the commissions followed one another at a rapid pace and the artist was able to fetch prices far higher than those of his contemporaries. But this is a rare work painted entirely to pursue his own interests. Full of freedom and spontaneity, it reflects Klimt’s joy in painting and celebrating beauty in its purest form. It also reveals the innovative approach of him. Klimt also gives full expression to his complete fascination with Chinese and Japanese art and culture. In «Dame mit Fächer», Klimt draws mainly on Chinese motifs: the phoenix (symbol of immortality and rebirth, luck and fidelity) and lotus flowers (symbols of love, happy marriage and/or purity). Furthermore, the flattening of the background and the juxtaposition of patterns reflect his deep interest in Japanese woodblock prints.