Klimt undertook more extensive preparations for the portrait than any other piece he worked on. [22] Much of the portrait was undertaken by an elaborate technique of using gold and silver leaf and then adding decorative motifs in bas-relief using gesso, a paint mixture consisting of a binder mixed with chalk or gypsum. [39] The frame for the painting, covered in gold leaf, was made by the architect Josef Hoffmann. [40] Klimt finished the work by 1907. [41] Description [ edit ] The decorative motifs: symbols suggestive of erotica

Months later, happening upon an art book with "Woman in Gold" on the cover, Schoenberg has an epiphany. Using a narrow rule of law and precedents in which an art restitution law was retroactively applied, Schoenberg files a claim in US court against the Austrian government contesting their claim to the painting. An appeal goes to the Supreme Court of the United States, where in the matter of Republic of Austria v. Altmann, the court rules in Altmann's favor, which results in the Austrian government attempting to persuade Altmann to retain the painting for the gallery, which she refuses. After a falling out over the issue of returning to Austria for a second time to argue the case, Altmann agrees for Schoenberg to go and argue the case in front of a panel of three arbiters in Vienna.Kimmelman, Michael (19 September 2006). "Klimts Go to Market; Museums Hold Their Breath". New York Times. The history of the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I and the other paintings taken from the Bloch-Bauers has been recounted in three documentary films, Stealing Klimt (2007), The Rape of Europa (2007) and Adele's Wish (2008). [91] The painting's history is described in the 2012 book The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, by the journalist Anne-Marie O'Connor. [92] The history, as well as other stories of other stolen art, is told by Melissa Müller and Monika Tatzkow in Lost Lives, Lost Art: Jewish Collectors, Nazi Art Theft, and the Quest for Justice, published in 2010. [93] The story of Adele Bloch-Bauer and Maria Altmann formed the basis for the 2017 novel Stolen Beauty by Laurie Lico Albanese. [94] The portrait is featured in the memoir of Gregor Collins, The Accidental Caregiver, about his relationship with Maria Altmann, published in August 2012. [95] The book was dramatised for the stage in January 2015. [96] In 2015 Altmann's story was dramatised for the film Woman in Gold starring Helen Mirren as Maria and Ryan Reynolds as Schoenberg. [97] Nelson, Robert S. (2015). "Modernism's Byzantium Byzantium's Modernism". In Betancourt, Roland; Taroutina, Maria (eds.). Byzantium/Modernism: The Byzantine as Method in Modernity. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-30001-9. Jones, Jonathan (2018-02-12). "Portrait of Obama: 'This will not tell the future ages what made him special' ". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-02-15. Michaud, Christopher (19 January 2007). "Christie's stages record art sale". Reuters . Retrieved 19 October 2019.

There is no agreed view on the dates of the golden period, although the art historian Elizabeth Clegg, writing in The Burlington Magazine puts the dates as 1903–1908; [14] Néret writes that the period begins in 1906 and ends in 1909. [15] Kenny, Shannon L. (2011). Gold: A Cultural Encyclopedia: A Cultural Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-38431-8. Hubertus Czernin, who is depicted in the movie, is suggested to have been motivated by the fact that his father had been a member of the Nazi Party, but Stefan Grissemann from Austrian weekly Profil pointed out that his father's party membership was not known to Czernin until 2006, long after he had started to work on this and other restitution cases. In addition, Czernin's father was imprisoned by the Nazis late in the war for high treason. [ citation needed] Morrison, Patt (17 March 2012). "Patt Morrison Asks: E. Randol Schoenberg—for the gold Klimt". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012 . Retrieved 28 April 2017.Principal photography began on 23 May 2014 and lasted for eight weeks in the United Kingdom, Austria, and the United States. [7] [10] On 16 June the filming was under way in London. [11] On 9 July the filming was reportedly under way in Los Angeles. [8] The film is based on the true story of Maria Altmann, an elderly Jewish refugee living in Cheviot Hills, Los Angeles, who, together with her young lawyer, Randy Schoenberg, fought the government of Austria for almost a decade to reclaim Gustav Klimt's iconic painting of her aunt Adele Bloch-Bauer, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, which was stolen from her relatives by the Nazis in Vienna just prior to World War II. Altmann took her legal battle all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, which ruled on the case Republic of Austria v. Altmann (2004). Although Altmann was not old enough at the time to remember Klimt's visits, she grew up visiting her uncle and aunt's grand house, which was filled with pictures, tapestries, elegant furniture and a collection of fine porcelain. Adele would often hold court for musicians, artists and writers in the salon of her huge house on Elisabethstrasse near the Wiener Staatsoper (the Vienna State Opera house). Altmann and her lawyer took their case all the way to the Supreme Court and won. However, an independent arbitration followed in 2004, resulting in Altmann's favor. Two years later, the art finally found its way to her home in Los Angeles, becoming the most expensive return of Nazi-stolen art at that time. In 1908 the portrait was exhibited at the Kunstschau in Vienna where critical reaction was mixed. [35] The unnamed reviewer from the Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung described the painting as "an idol in a golden shrine", [40] while the critic Eduard Pötzl described the work as " mehr Blech als Bloch" ("more brass than Bloch"). [39] [n 6] According to the art historian Tobias G. Natter, some critics disapproved of the loss of the sitter's individuality, while others "accused Klimt of endangering the autonomy of art". [41] History and ownership [ edit ] 1912–1945 [ edit ] Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II, the 1912 painting by Klimt

Frodl, Gerbert (1992). Klimt. Translated by Campbell, Alexandra. London: Barrie & Jenkins. ISBN 978-0-7126-5168-4.

Film critics in Austria and Germany noted various deviations of the film from historical reality. Olga Kronsteiner from the Austrian daily Der Standard wrote that it was not Maria Altmann's lawyer, Randol Schönberg, who researched and initiated the restitution case, but Austrian journalist Hubertus Czernin, who had worked on a number of restitution files at the time, who found the decisive documents and subsequently informed Maria Altmann. [16] Schoenberg, E. Randol (9 June 2014). The Recovery of Nazi-Looted Art: The Bloch-Bauer Klimt Paintings (Video). University of California. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21 . Retrieved 17 April 2017. Arbitral Award – 5 Klimt paintings Maria V. Altmann and others v. Republic of Austria, 15 January 2004" (PDF). University of Geneva. 15 January 2004 . Retrieved 17 April 2017. Helen Mirren received a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. [15] Historical accuracy [ edit ]

Thomas Trenkler from the Viennese daily Kurier criticized the film's reference to a time limit for restitution claims in Austria, writing that there has never been such a time limit. He also wrote that his least favorite scene in the film was when Maria Altmann leaves her ailing father in Vienna in 1938. Despite the imminent danger, Maria Altmann stayed in Vienna, having said, "I would never have left my father! He died of natural causes in July 1938". Only then did she and her husband escape from Vienna. [17] Guests at the salon included the composers Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss and Alma Mahler, the politicians Karl Renner and Julius Tandler and the writers Jakob Wassermann and Stefan Zweig. [28] The film strongly suggests that during the oral argument in Republic of Austria v. Altmann, Chief Justice William Rehnquist (played by Jonathan Pryce) is won over by Schoenberg and supports him. In fact, Rehnquist dissented from the court's eventual decision in Altmann's favour. Neue Galerie New York Agrees to Acquire Spectacular Klimt Painting, Adele Bloch-Bauer I". Neue Galerie. 19 June 2006. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017 . Retrieved 12 April 2017. a b c d e f g Barraclough, Leo (30 May 2014). "Max Irons, Charles Dance, Elizabeth McGovern Join 'Woman in Gold' ". Variety . Retrieved 30 May 2014.

The Ginger Gold Series in Order (26 Books)

D'Alessandro, Anthony (12 April 2015). " 'Furious 7' Becomes Highest-Grossing 'Fast & Furious' Sequel In 10 Days – Box Office". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 19 October 2019. Critics have been so-so on it with a Rotten Tomatoes of 53%, however exit polls tell another story: Auds love it with an A CinemaScore. Kronsteiner, Olga (29 May 2015). " "Die Frau in Gold": Faktentreue ist eine schlechte Dramaturgin"["Woman in Gold": factual accuracy is bad drama]. Der Standard (in German). Vienna . Retrieved 19 October 2019.