The Kiss in Vienna

My favourite painting is the Kiss from Gustav Klimt. I was reading books about his life; researching and finally I have visited Vienna to see his pictures. Klimt’s paintings are held in the museum Belvedere in Vienna. There are twenty-four works oil paintings, including two masterpieces from his Golden Period, Kiss (Lovers) and Judith, major portraits (Sonja Knips, Fritza Riedler, and Johanna Staude etc.); also there are landscapes and allegorical depictions. The collection also includes one of Klimt’s sketchbooks and his monumental Beethoven Frieze at the Wien Secession. 

I’m embarrassed but I had to write that when we came to Vienna I didn’t know how that palace looks like. I have not even googled it, I just knew the museum’s name is Belvedere because I read about it in some books about Klimt. Firstly I was exhilarated with the beautiful baroque Belvedere building, and gardens, fountains, sculptures, because I didn’t know what to expect.  The palace was built between 1712 and 1717, for Prince Eugene of Savoy who was the part of the ruling dynasty during a period of economic success for Vienna and Austria, particularly after Prince Eugene won a series of wars against the Ottoman Empire.

I asked the tourist guide about the visiting and he told me that we will visit the museum with the group. But when we came there nobody was interested to go inside the museum because the second option was to go shopping in the city centre. I was terrified, I came so close to the Kiss and I won’t see it! So I told our guide that I am going inside and after that I will found with the group in the city centre.

I bought a ticket in a small house next to the museum; for adults it was around 10 EUR, but if you are under 19 years it’s free.

I found out that this museum was Klimt and other Austrian artists’s idea. They wanted a place for Austrian art, where they can present their works in an international context. The Belvedere’s curatorial work and exhibitions are based on this premise to this day. I can say that Klimt would be proud today. I easily found The Kiss, because it has a central position in the room, and there were the biggest crowd and, yes, it is even more beautiful than in the books and so on.

But there is not just The Kiss, there were the most expensive Klimt’s paintings and according to some others, the most expensive painting in the world - Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. There is a long and justice story connected with that painting.

This picture was painted in Vienna for Adele's husband Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. As a wealthy industrialist who had made his fortune in the sugar industry, he sponsored the arts and also supported Gustav Klimt.  

But when Nazi Germany annexed Austria, most of the Klimt’s paintings, including it, were stolen. Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer died a few years after that in Zurich, and in his testament, he designated his nephew and nieces, including Maria Altmann, as the heirs of his estate.

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer was held in Belvedere since the Second World War and his true owner was in U.S.A. Then in 2000, Maria Altmann sued Austria in the US court for ownership of Adele Bloch-Bauer I and other paintings from her uncle's collection. The problem was the point in the testament of Adele Bloch-Bauer, that wish was that pictures stay in the gallery. The final decision was in 2006 and Maria Altmann was the rightful owner of this and four other paintings by Klimt. She sold this painting for US$135 million to Ronald Lauder. So today we need to go to New York City in the Neue Galery to see Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer.

I watched the movie about this story and I am happy to recommend watching this movie about this true story, which name is “Woman in gold”.

If you are in Vienna I recommend visiting another beautiful palace – Schönbrunn.