English
Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000)
Mäda Primavesi’s expression and bearing convey a remarkable degree of confidence for a nine-year-old girl. A strong-willed and active child, she vividly remembered posing while Klimt made numerous sketches, experimenting with her position, setting, and outfit. In the end, she wore a dress custom-made by the couture designer Emilie Flöge, the artist’s close companion. Bright blossoms on the girl’s clothing and in the background evoke youth and delicacy. The portrait attests to the sophistication of Mäda’s parents, Otto and Eugenia, who were ardent patrons of Vienna’s cutting-edge artistic circles.
This painting was seized by the Nazis from Jenny Pulitzer Steiner in 1938 in Vienna and restituted to her in 1951.
Artwork Details
- Title: Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000)
- Artist: Gustav Klimt (Austrian, Baumgarten 1862–1918 Vienna)
- Date: 1912–13
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 59 x 43 1/2 in. (149.9 x 110.5 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of André and Clara Mertens, in memory of her mother, Jenny Pulitzer Steiner, 1964
- Object Number: 64.148
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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Gustav Klimt
1903–1904
Gustav Klimt
1917–1918
Gustav Klimt
1906–07
Gustav Klimt
1905–1906
Gustav Klimt
1913
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