Work photo “The Bride”, 1917

Aside from a large number of landscapes and portraits, Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) also devoted himself to large-sized allegories in his work, e.g. *Death and Life * and The Virgin. This black-and white photograph from the estate of Klimt, taken 1917 by Moriz Nähr (1859–1945), shows the The Bride, Klimt’s last work at the end of his creative career, which today is part of the holdings of the Klimt Foundation. Klimt, who died from a stroke on February 6, 1918, was unable to complete the painting. The allegory, extant only as a fragment and first in the possession of Emilie Flöge (1874–1952), shows influences of early Expressionism and Far-Eastern art. Elementary emblematic motifs about the circle of life—the cycle of becoming and passing—densify into a composition that fills up the pictorial space. The individual are grouped around the titular figure of the bride who, as a central figure, stands between the female nude on the right side with her lower body wrapped in a decorative veil and the cluster of people on the left. Klimt took as special interest in the public presentation of his works, which is why he kept commissioning documentary pictures of his paintings from his favorite photographer Moriz Nähr.

BH, 2021