Lady with Cape and Hat in Front of Red Background

In the second half of the 1890s, Gustav Klimt’s small-scale portraits of ladies were characterized by fashionable accessories, such as capes, fur stoles or collars. This bust portrait executed in an upright format of an as yet unidentified lady in front of a lavish red background made its way into the art trade via the Galerie Miethke and showcases these wardrobe essentials of a Viennese lady at the turn of the century. The upturned collar covers her neck and indirectly supports the pinned-up hair, while the artist’s signature shines out from the dark cape on the lower right side of the depiction. The fact that Klimt explored elements of contemporary fashion during these years may be due to his relationship with Emilie Flöge, with whom Klimt also had relational ties from 1891. From 1904 Flöge ran the sophisticated fashion house Salon Schwestern Flöge and created the corset-less reform dress. The female portraits of those years paved the way for Klimt’s turning point in portrait art, which he reached in 1898 with the Portrait of Sonja Knips and which brought with it a new imposing format, preferably a square one, as well as a host of wealthy commissioners.