Portrait of a Lady (Klimt)
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Short description|Painting by Klimt}}
{{Infobox Artwork
| image_file = Gustav Klimt 061.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| title = Portrait of a Lady
| other_language_1 =
| other_title_1 =
| artist = Gustav Klimt
| year = 1916–1917
| height_metric = 60
| width_metric = 55
| metric_unit = cm
| imperial_unit = in
| museum = Galleria d'arte moderna Ricci Oddi
| city = Piacenza
}}
Portrait of a Lady is an oil on canvas painting by Gustav Klimt, painted between 1916 and 1917. The painting measures {{convert|60|x|55|cm}}. It depicts a portrait of a female figure, composed in an unusually lively expressionistic style. It was acquired by the Galleria Ricci-Oddi in Piacenza in 1925.
In 1996, X-ray analysis revealed that the portrait was an overpainted version of Klimt's lost work Portrait of a Young Lady (in hat and with scarf{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-38242917|title=The mystery of the stolen Klimt|last=Paradiso|first=Max|date=8 December 2016|work=BBC News|access-date=11 November 2017|language=en-GB}}), which disappeared in 1917.{{Cite news|url=http://www.artribune.com/arti-visive/arte-moderna/2017/03/furti-arte-tv-chi-l-ha-visto-il-ritratto-di-signora-di-klimt/|title=Su 'Chi l'ha visto?' il quadro rubato di Klimt {{!}} Artribune|last=Marsala|first=Helga|date=3 March 2017|work=Artribune|access-date=11 November 2017|language=it-IT}} The original portrait showed a woman with whom Klimt is believed to have had a love affair, but after she died suddenly, he painted over the work.
Theft
The painting was believed stolen on 22 February 1997,{{Cite news|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/1997-gustav-klimt-heist-776903|title=Thief in 1997 Klimt Heist Claims Canvas to Be Returned {{!}} artnet News|date=9 December 2016|work=artnet News|access-date=11 November 2017|language=en-US}} shortly before a special exhibition was planned at the gallery, during the renovation of the building. The frame was found discarded on the roof next to a skylight, which was, however, too small for the painting to have been removed through.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50743143 |title=Portrait of a Lady: Stolen Klimt mystery 'solved' by gardener in Italy |work=BBC News |date=11 December 2019 |accessdate=11 December 2019}}
In April 1997, the Italian police authorities discovered a high-quality forgery at Ventimiglia, on the Italian border with France, in a package addressed to the former Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi who was hiding from the law in Hammamet, Tunisia.{{Cite news|url=http://www.ilpiacenza.it/cronaca/un-opera-tra-mistero-e-leggenda-il-klimt-contraffatto-spedito-a-craxi-ad-hammamet.html|title=Un'opera tra mistero e leggenda: il Klimt contraffatto spedito a Craxi ad Hammamet|work=IlPiacenza|access-date=11 November 2017}} The "theft" in February may have been staged shortly before the exhibition to cover up the swap of the original painting with the forgery some months before. The case was reopened in 2014 after new DNA testing of the painting's frame.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/mar/16/gustav-klimt-theft-italy-portrait-of-a-woman|title=Gustav Klimt theft case reopens in Italy 17 years on|last=Davies|first=Lizzy|date=16 March 2014|work=The Guardian|access-date=11 November 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} Various copies of the painting were known to the Italian police.{{Cite news|url=http://www.ilpiacenza.it/cronaca/ritratto-signora-klimt-sequestrata-copia-18-novembre-2011.html|title="Ritratto di Signora" del Klimt: i carabinieri sequestrano la copia alla Ricci Oddi|work=IlPiacenza|access-date=11 November 2017}}
In December 2019, 23 years after the theft, a bag containing what was believed to be the missing painting was recovered from a recess in an exterior wall of the gallery by gardeners clearing away ivy,{{Cite news|last1=Iqbal|first1=Nosheen|last2=Jonze|first2=Tim|date=2020-01-22|title=In pictures: The greatest art heists in history|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2009/feb/19/greatest-art-heists-in-pictures|access-date=2021-04-17|issn=0261-3077}} which had overgrown over the recess at least 10 years prior. The painting was confirmed to be the missing Portrait of a Lady the following month.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51156682|title=Portrait of a Lady: Painting found in wall confirmed as stolen Klimt|date=17 January 2020|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=17 January 2020}} The painting went on exhibition for 5 months in the Museum of Rome from the end of October 2021, before returning to the Galleria Ricci-Oddi in Piacenza.{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Guy |date=31 Oct 2021 |title=Klimt's 'Portrait Of A Lady,' Once 'The Most Famous Stolen Painting In The World,' Goes On Exhibition In Rome |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/guymartin/2021/10/31/klimts-portrait-of-a-lady-once-the-most-famous-stolen-painting-in-the-world-goes-on-exhibition-i |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=Forbes}}{{Cite web |last=Solomon |first=Tessa |date=2021-10-05 |title=Long-Lost Klimt Painting Set to Be Exhibited in Italy for the First Time Following Recovery |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/stolen-klimt-exhibition-italy-portrait-of-a-lady-1234605672/ |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=ARTnews.com |language=en-US}} The investigation into the painting's theft was closed as unsolved.{{Cite web |last=McDonagh |first=Shannon |date=2021-10-27 |title='Portrait of a Lady': After years of 'hiding', Klimt work now on show |url=https://www.euronews.com/culture/2021/10/27/portrait-of-a-lady-after-years-of-hiding-klimt-work-is-a-star-in-rome-show |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=euronews |language=en}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{Gustav Klimt}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portrait of a Lady}}
Category:Paintings by Gustav Klimt