Description

Diamonds and Sand Adele Bloch-Bauer (1882-1925) did not seek fame-but acclaimed and passionate artist Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) thrust her into the public's eye by painting two portraits that assured her lasting admiration and speculation. Both portraits were commissioned by her wealthy industrialist husband-and each illustrated different, almost contradictory views of the intellectually curious, mysterious woman. As a child, Adele escaped the rules of a repressive Vienna in the last decades of the 19th century, by conjuring a secret tunnel that gave life to her fantasies. Only when she began sitting for Klimt's portrait of her did her fantasies slide into reality, bringing both blinding ecstasy and paralyzing guilt. Her journey is intriguing... Join her...