The Belvedere Art Museum was the fabulous palace of a great Austrian military hero who had no heirs, therefore the state received his property and the Belvedere Palace became a wonderful art gallery.
Not only was the Belvedere Palace filled with amazing artwork to admire, it was an enchanting palace to wander about and observe its lavish great rooms and staircases.
There were paintings from different artists including Van Gogh (1853-1890) and Monet (1840-1926) but the Belvedere features many Austrian artists including Gustav Klimt (1862-1918). There were several original paintings of Klimt’s on display, including his famous The Kiss.
Gustav Klimt
Gustav Klimt
Gustav Klimt
I learned Klimt has another famous painting called Portrait d’Adele Bloch-Bauer I, also known as The Woman In Gold, but that painting is hanging in a New York City art gallery. A movie was made about this painting titled Woman in Gold. During WWII thousands of pieces of artwork were confiscated by the Nazi’s and many pieces never were returned. The movie Woman In Gold tells the true story of this particular portrait and its story of reclamation to the original family.
Portrait d’Adele Bloch-Bauer I (Woman in Gold), 1907
Gustav Klimt
It was fun to watch the movie soon after we had returned home from our trip and recognize many places in the movie where we had just visited. I highly recommend the movie.
Franz Eybl
And then… as I turned in to another room I stopped in my tracks when I saw this painting, A Girl Reading. The artist’s name is Franz Eybl (1806-1880) and the painting is titled Lesendes Mädchen (A Girl Reading – 1850). It was as though I was looking at this girl through a window frame. The detail is amazing and the lighting – incredible. I was captivated by the highlights in the young girl’s hair, the fine details of the book, the placement of her hand on her chest and her facial expression…and that she is reading spoke to me too because I love to read. I stood in awe for a long time as I absorbed the details of this stunning painting.
Our time at Belvedere Palace was inspirational…
and I assume that is what art museums hope to achieve.
I was inspired.