Lady with Fan

Lady with Fan was painted during the year 1917. When Klimt had a stroke on 11 January 1918, this painting was almost finished. It was a collector’s piece rather than a commission, a variation on Klimt’s favorite theme of the Viennese beauty. The unknown model is engaged in a seductive game—her shoulder exposed, her naked breast concealed by the fan, her head raised high and her gaze self-confident.

During the course of his career, Klimt repeatedly explored the theme of the seductive woman as embodied by his models. He constantly varied their poses, gazes, garments, and hairstyles. Lady with Fan can thus be understood as a further development of the lost paintings Wally and Girlfriends II.

Klimt’s focus on themes of female eroticism and idyllic landscapes in the middle of World War I was often considered decadent. Yet his efforts to counter the grim reality with a vision of harmony and love become, especially in his last works, a message of peace—just as the Chinese garments and decoration celebrate intercultural exchange.

Private collection © Belvedere, Vienna, 2021 Image: Markus Guschelbauer