Copy after Gustav Klimt - Baroness Elizabeth Bachofen-Echt - Oil Painting
Master Copy after Gustav Klimt's portrait of Baroness Elizabeth Bachofen-Echt painted in 1914
"This is another little master study; This time after the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt 1862-1918. Klimt did many society portraits in his time, like this one of the very grand sounding Baroness Elizabeth Bachofen-Echt. However, Klimt being a modern master was trying to break free of pure realism and instead sought, and indeed found, a unique marriage of realism with more abstract elements of design. In this like many artists of his time he was inspired by Japanese art, particularly the graphic and design qualities of their woodblock prints. If you look closely you can see that Klimt has actually placed a few Japanese figures, after this style, in the background. In truth, I only tackled a small section of Klimt's much larger painting, so if you saw the original you'd see many more of these figures populating the scene.
In a larger sense, it might be worth mentioning that this strand of Eastern art had evolved a language representation so different to the Western tradition, that it captivated a multitude of Western artists, not just Klimt, but also such artistic giants as Gauguin and Van Gogh and many more besides. I've always loved this period of art, this transition between the old and the new. When the goals of art had broadened out from pure mimicry of nature, and started to explore the expressive possibilities of using more abstract elements of design and colour. It's that wonderful and exciting time when artists had one foot firmly planted in the old world of representation and tradition, while allowing the other foot to roam into the more modern, creative and expressive realms. In truth, this is where I'd love my own original art to go, and hoping little studies like this will help nudge me in the right direction. Thus, you might expect some experimental work to come as I find my own artistic feet, so to speak."
oil on canvas,
Framed in white
by Vincent Keeling
Size
Canvas - 30x30cm
Frame - 55x55cm
Price
Unframed - 610 Euro
Framed - 710 Euro
vincentkeeling@gmail.com