Study for the portrait of Elisabeth Bachofen-Echt

Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, Collection Josef Prohaska, acquired in 1966 Elisabeth Bachofen-Echt, née Lederer (1894–1944), was born in 1894 to the industrialist couple Serena and August Lederer. In 1921 Elisabeth married Wolfgang Freiherr von Bachofen-Echt, a member of a dynasty of beer brewers. After the National Socialists’ seizure of power her husband divorced her, citing her Jewish ancestry as reason. A certificate stating that Elisabeth’s father was actually Gustav Klimt enabled her to live in Vienna during the war unmolested by the Nazis. The study shows Elisabeth in full figure. The way Klimt only hints at eyebrows, nose and hair line with a few spare strokes invites comparison with the later painting.