Study for the portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl

Amalie Zuckerkandl (1869–1942) was born as Miriam Amalie Schlesinger to the family of a playwright in Vienna. In 1895 she married urologist Otto Zuckerkandl. During World War I Zuckerkandl was stationed in a hospital in Lemberg, today’s Lviv, where his wife worked as a nurse. In 1917 the couple returned to Vienna. They were divorced in 1919. In 1942 Amalie and her daughter were deported by the Nazis and murdered. What is striking in the portrait is the black lace neckband tied into a bow, an accessory which contributes to Amalie’s characterisation and is already hinted at in the study. Klimt began work on the studies for the painting as early as 1914. In the end, death prevented him from putting the final touches to the painting.