The recovered painting in the Im Kinsky auction house in Vienna. Image AFP
For almost a hundred years, the painting by the famous Austrian painter Klimt, leader of the Vienna Secession art movement, seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Klimt painted the portrait of a young woman from the wealthy Jewish Lieser family of Vienna just before his death in 1918. But what happened to her afterwards is a mystery.
The Austrian art historian and Klimt expert Alfred Weidinger therefore always had to make do with the only surviving photo of the painting, a black and white copy, taken in 1925. Until now. For the first time, Weidinger can admire Fräulein Lieser in all its glory. “Great news,” he says. ‘This is one of the most important works from Klimt’s late period. It’s even better than I thought.’
Over by author
Thom Canters is a general reporter for De Volkskrant.
Together with the son of the woman who is said to be in the painting, Margarethe Constance Lieser, Weidinger spent years researching where the painting had gone. In vain, he says. ‘Not long before his death, her son told me that the painting would resurface after his death.’
And so it happened. An anonymous Austrian recently approached the Im Kinsky auction house. The owner inherited the painting from distant relatives about two years ago, the director of the auction house told the Austrian public broadcaster ORF. That family is said to have acquired it in the 1960s, after it suddenly appeared on the market sometime around that time.
No stolen art
That offers some insight into what happened to the painting after 1918. After Klimt’s death in 1918, the painting is said to have gone to the Lieser family. A note on the 1925 photo shows an address that belonged to Henriette Lieser, an aunt of Margarethe Constance Lieser. Another theory is that one of Henriette’s daughters, a niece of Margarethe, is depicted in the painting.
Henriette Lieser was murdered during the Holocaust. Auction house Im Kinsky, where the painting is now, says there is currently no evidence that the painting was stolen before or during World War II. After the war, it was never claimed by heirs as art looted by Nazis.
Experts from the auction house subsequently identified the painting as Klimt’s missing work. Although he never signed the painting, it was not difficult to attribute it to him, Weidinger says. ‘Just look at the expressive use of colours, almost as if it were watercolour, and the playful way in which the ornaments such as the flowers are presented,’ explains the expert. ‘That is characteristic of work from Klimt’s late period.’
Veiling in april
Further research will have to reveal where the painting was until the 1960s. In any case, it will be auctioned in April, on behalf of both the current owners and the descendants of Henriette Leiser and her husband.
The value of the work is estimated by auction house Im Kinsky to be between 30 and 50 million euros. Previous auctions of Klimt’s work yielded record amounts. Klimt’s Dame mit Fächer (Woman with a Fan) was auctioned for more than 108 million euros by Sotheby’s in London last July. Never before has a work of art fetched so much money at an auction in Europe.
Before then, the painting will travel around the world. The painting will be on public display in Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, among others. Weidinger: ‘Wonderful that people can now see such an important work.’
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2024-01-26 17:00:33
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