Episode 32: Gustav Klimt and his art stolen by the Nazis

Hello and welcome back to Breakfast with Mom!

Today I want to tell you about Gustav Klimt, and the story of his stolen art.

Gustav was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent figures in the Vienna Secession movement. Born on July 14, 1862, in Baumgarten, near Vienna, Austria, Gustav demonstrated artistic talent from a young age. He studied at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts, where he was trained in architectural painting and decorative arts.

One of Gustav’s most famous paintings, “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I,” was at the center of one of the most notable art thefts and restitution cases in history. The Portrait is an oil painting on canvas, with gold leaf. The painting was commissioned by Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, a wealthy industrialist and Adele Bloch-Bauer’s husband; the painting was completed sometime in 1907.

During World War II, when Austria was occupied by Nazi Germany, the painting, along with other valuable artworks, was seized from the Bloch-Bauer family by the Nazis. After the war, the painting ended up in the possession of the Austrian government. It was displayed in the Austrian Gallery Belvedere in Vienna for many years.

Resources:

https://www.neuegalerie.org/collection/artist-profiles/gustav-klimt

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gustav-Klimt

https://www.gustav-klimt.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Klimt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Adele_Bloch-Bauer_I

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adele_Bloch-Bauer

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/bloch-bauer-adele

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Altmann

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_in_Gold_(film)

Say What?!:

https://www.npr.org/2024/05/03/1248880788/wally-alligator-missing-georgia

All the things: