Sensational Additions to the Collection: Two New Klimt Paintings for the Belvedere

VIENNA, March 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

The two masterpieces Sunflower  (1907) and Family  (1909/10) can be viewed together in the Upper Belvedere for the first time from 9 to 18 March 2012.  

The Belvedere can now rejoice in the most significant addition to its collection in the history of the Second Republic of Austria: starting on 9 March, the Viennese museum, which accommodates the largest collection of paintings by Gustav Klimt worldwide, is presenting two further works by this exceptional Austrian artist. Klimt's works Sunflower and Family (1909/10), which were hitherto owned by the deceased Viennese art collector Peter Parzer, have entered the Belvedere's collection. Thanks to these two donations, the Belvedere's Klimt holdings have been increased to twenty-four paintings altogether.

The Belvedere's director Dr Agnes Husslein-Arco comments upon the expansion of the collection as follows: "I knew Peter Parzer and his large art collection for a period of 30 years. He was closely affiliated to the Belvedere for many years and supported our exhibition and research activities. Besides the two prominent paintings by Gustav Klimt, his bequest includes more than fifty works by Gerhart Frankl, as well as masterpieces by Georg Merkel, Herbert Boeckl, Tina Blau, Jean Egger, Oskar Laske, and Kurt Moldovan. Our infinite gratitude is therefore due to Peter Parzer. That the Belvedere and thus the Republic of Austria have received two new paintings by this great artist during the Gustav Klimt Anniversary Year is the most wonderful birthday present for us and for art lovers around the globe."

Great joy over the new acquisitions is also expressed by Cultural Minister Dr Claudia Schmied: "Peter Parzer's generous readiness to bequeath his family's lifework to the Belvedere and thus to the Republic of Austria is a philanthropic act in the truest sense of the word. The donation of such outstanding works attests to both the collector's faith in Austria as a country of museums and his conviction that the museum as an institution fulfils an important function. This unique artistic bequest to the Belvedere is an enrichment for all of us, now and in the future. Generations of interested people will take delight in the works once owned by the Parzer family and will hence be able to share the family's enthusiasm and passion for art. The Klimt paintings presented here today further enhance the world's largest collection of paintings by Gustav Klimt in the Belvedere and underscore once more Austria's compelling appeal as a nation of culture. These additions to the collection are all the more important since we would not be in a position to acquire works of such significance and quality on the art market. It is an enormous achievement that Agnes Husslein-Arco, the Belvedere's director, has succeeded in gaining Peter Parzer's collection for her museum. I therefore extend to her my heartfelt thanks on behalf of the Republic of Austria and all art lovers. The 9th of March is truly a day of celebration for art in Austria."

In taking over the bequest, the Belvedere received support from the State Financial Procurator's Office, which, as the Republic's legal advisory authority, is administered by the Federal Treasury. Minister of Finance Dr Maria Fekter: "It is not every day that a country is presented with such significant works of art. This is why we were of course most willing to support the Belvedere in the settlement of this inheritance. I am most grateful to Agnes Husslein-Arco for her tireless commitment and for her efforts to make these superb paintings accessible to the public."  

The "portrait" of a Sunflower, done in Litzlberg on Attersee in 1907, is Klimt's most exceptional painting of a natural subject. The anthropomorphic features of the plant, which is depicted as if mounted on a throne, call to mind Emilie Flöge, who was photographed by Klimt posing in reform dresses the year before in a cottage garden on Attersee. The myriad of golden dots applied on top of the paint layer, which have hitherto remained undetected, justify assigning this painting to the work group of the Golden Period. Klimt's rendering of a Family from 1909/10 is by no means less important. The distinct differentiation between the principal pictorial elements, which are modelled in light colours, and the remaining sections, which make up the major part of the picture and are homogeneously rendered in dark tones, turned out to be seminal for later compositions by Egon Schiele.

The two works will be on display at the Upper Belvedere from 9 to 18 March 2012. Since Sunflower will be shown in the adapted Belvedere show Klimt under the Spell of Hoffmann and the Secession in the Museo Correr in Venice from 24 March on, this will be the last opportunity for the time being to see the two paintings before the Belvedere opens its large summer exhibition 150 Years of Gustav Klimt.

Pictures of the presentation: http://www.apa-fotoservice.at/galerie/2784

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