It’s the sale of the century: the “Portrait of Mademoiselle Lieser” by the famous Austrian painter Gustav Klimt, estimated at between 30 and 50 million euros, must find a buyer at auction on April 24 in Vienna, despite the gray areas surrounding its provenance.
This unsigned portrait which remained hidden for almost a century caused a sensation, especially as it is very well preserved. The canvas, begun in 1917, represents a young brunette woman with precise features, adorned with a large scarf richly decorated with flowers on a bright red background. The painting is unfinished… The painter died the following year and a mystery, fiercely debated in the specialist press, still surrounds the identity of the model.
In more than one way, this sale is historic: “no comparable work” has ever been offered in the artist’s native country according to Claudia Mörth-Gasser, head of the modern art section of the house “im Kinsky.”
Who is the model, this magnificent Viennese woman under twenty years old, from the wealthy upper middle class, who went nine times to the studio of this adored genius of his time to pose during 25 preliminary studies? Only one thing is certain: she comes from the Lieser family, a great Jewish industrial dynasty, patron of the artistic avant-garde.
In June 2023, another painting by Klimt, The woman with the fan, was sold for 98.9 million euros in London, becoming the most expensive work of art ever sold in Europe…