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Defense Date
2006
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Art History
First Advisor
Dr. Eric Garberson
Abstract
In 1907, Gustav Klimt finished Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. The portrait offers a strong opposition between the three dimensionality of the sitter's face and hands and the flatness of her ornamented dress and surroundings. Despite this opposition the portrait has not been discussed within the theoretical framework of portraiture, but is most often discussed, and grouped, with Klimt's other portraits and images of women. This paper argues that the lack of scholarly consideration of this portrait, and Klimt's portraits as a whole, might be due to his seeming lack of artistic program. By relating Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I to identity theory and to the scholarship on modern portraiture, this discussion will reveal that there are elements of interest in Klimt's portraits which warrant scholarly consideration.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
June 2008
VCU Only:
Off Campus Download
Comments
Part of Retrospective ETD Collection, restricted to VCU only.