Description
Girlfriends is a late painting by Gustav Klimt from 1916–1917: two women stand close together against a deep pink-red background, one nude with her head resting on the other’s shoulder, the other facing us in a long red robe with her hair wrapped in a white scarf, surrounded by birds and flowers. The original was destroyed by fire in 1945, so the work survives only in a colour reproduction, and our painters work from it. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas, in square sizes up to 150 x 150 cm or to your own measurement, and send you a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.
| Title: | Girlfriends |
| Other titles: | Women Friends · Die Freundinnen · Le amiche |
| Painter: | Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) |
| Year painted: | 1916–1917 |
| Original size: | 99 cm x 99 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Vienna, Klimt’s late colourful period |
| Located at: | Destroyed in 1945 (Schloss Immendorf, Lower Austria) |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, square sizes or made to measure |
Girlfriends – Gustav Klimt
What does the painting show?
Two women fill the square, so close that their bodies almost merge. On the left a nude woman stands in profile, turned towards her companion, her head resting on the other woman’s shoulder. On the right the second woman faces us: her face is pale, her lips are red, and her hair is wrapped in a white, turban-like scarf. A long red robe falls from her shoulders in soft folds almost to the lower edge.
Around them the background glows in deep pink and red. At the top right a small black bird sits among flowers; on the left a large, many-coloured bird like a phoenix spreads its feathers, and patterned creatures fill the edges of the canvas. There is no gold anywhere: the painting lives from warm colour, from pattern and from the two faces.
Why can the original no longer be seen?
Because it no longer exists. Girlfriends belonged to the Lederer collection in Vienna. The Nazis confiscated the collection, and the painting was stored with other works by Klimt at Schloss Immendorf, a castle in Lower Austria. On 8 May 1945, the last day of the war in Europe, the castle burned, and Girlfriends was destroyed together with several other paintings by Klimt.
What remains is a colour reproduction made before the loss. Our painters work from it, so every copy we make is a way of bringing a lost Klimt back onto a wall. There is a short entry on the painting on Wikipedia.
What does Girlfriends mean?
Klimt left no explanation, and the painting has been read in more than one way. Most viewers see an image of closeness and trust between two women: one turns to the other and leans against her, the other looks out at us calmly, as if guarding the moment. Some read the two as a couple. The title only says that they are friends and leaves the rest to the viewer.
The birds and patterned creatures around them belong to Klimt’s late style, when he filled his backgrounds with decorative motifs and strong colour, some of them reminiscent of East Asian art. Next to the two quiet figures they make the painting feel alive and a little exotic.
Where does Girlfriends sit in Klimt’s late work?
Klimt worked on Girlfriends in 1916 and 1917, in the last years of his life; he died in February 1918. These are the years of his most colourful paintings, after the golden period of The Kiss: strong reds, pinks and blues, ornament taken from fabrics and the decorative arts, and figures painted with loose, lively strokes.
The canvas was square, 99 x 99 cm, a format Klimt liked for landscapes and figures alike. Because the original was lost so soon, Girlfriends is less familiar than his museum works, but its colour and its unusual subject have kept it in books about Klimt. More on the painter is on Wikipedia’s Gustav Klimt page.
Is Girlfriends the same as Water Serpents I?
No, although the names cause confusion. Water Serpents I, which we also paint, is sometimes called Girlfriends (Freundinnen) too, but it is an earlier, tall work from 1904 on parchment, with two slender figures floating among gold and water creatures. Its horizontal companion is Water Serpents II. Our Girlfriends is the late, square oil painting of 1916–1917 in pink and red.
Choose Girlfriends for warm colour and a square format; choose the Water Serpents for gold and water. From the same late years come The Virgin, with its tangle of sleeping women in bright patterned cloth, and The Dancer, a standing woman in front of a wall of flowers.
How do we paint Girlfriends by hand?
The painter first draws the two figures, the heads and the line where the bodies meet, so that the closeness of the pose is right. Then comes the pink-red background, laid in with several layers so that it glows, followed by the long red robe, which needs its own deeper reds and soft folds.
The faces, the hands and the white scarf are painted last and with the greatest care, then the birds, the flowers and the patterned creatures at the edges. A printed oil painting reproduction flattens these colours into one surface; by hand, every red keeps its own depth. Every painting is a hand-painted copy made for your order, so no two are ever quite the same.
There is no gold in Girlfriends, so we paint it in oil colours only. Because the original is lost, our painters follow the surviving colour reproduction and keep to its colours as closely as they can.
Which size for which wall?
Short answer: 90 x 90 or 99 x 99 cm above a sofa or a bed, 120 x 120 or 150 x 150 cm for a large wall, and 70 x 70 or 80 x 80 cm for a smaller space. The 99 x 99 cm size is exactly the size of the original.
The square sizes are 70 x 70, 80 x 80, 90 x 90, 99 x 99, 120 x 120 and 150 x 150 cm, and the product page also lists smaller formats. A square painting sits calmly above furniture: choose one about two thirds as wide as the sofa or bed below it. As a painting for the living room, 99 x 99 or 120 x 120 cm reads well from across the room; in a bedroom or a dressing room 80 x 80 or 90 x 90 cm is usually enough.
Hang it with the centre of the canvas about 150 cm above the floor; above a sofa, leave 20 to 30 cm between the back of the sofa and the lower edge of the canvas.
Custom size, stretcher and frame
If none of the sizes fits your wall, we paint it to measure; keeping it square keeps the composition as Klimt planned it. Send us the width and height you want and we will quote a price and a lead time. Every painting we make is stretched over a wooden stretcher and ready to hang.
For the moulding, use our 3D application: it shows every one of our frame profiles on this subject, so you can compare gold, silver, black, white and natural wood before deciding – the application is for choosing the frame only. If you would like to see how the painting will look on your own wall, that is our separate room placement service. A slim gold or dark wooden frame suits the warm reds; a plain white frame makes the pink look brighter.
Delivery and guarantee
Every painting is made to order in our studio in Slovenia, so allow 15 to 45 days depending on the size you choose. We ship it stretched and protected for transport, framed if you chose a frame, across the EU with no customs. Before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished work to approve; if anything is not right, we correct it while the canvas is still in our workshop. Our returns policy applies to every order.
If it is a present and you do not know the right size, there is a wall art voucher. Every other Klimt work we paint is in the Gustav Klimt gallery, and there is more on the painter in our article ten interesting facts about Gustav Klimt.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original of Klimt’s Girlfriends?
The original no longer exists. Girlfriends was destroyed by fire on 8 May 1945, when Schloss Immendorf in Lower Austria burned together with several other Klimt paintings stored there. It had belonged to the Lederer collection, which the Nazis confiscated. Today the work survives only in a colour reproduction, and our copies are painted after it.
What does Klimt’s Girlfriends represent?
It shows two women close together: one nude, resting her head on the other’s shoulder, the other facing us in a red robe and a white scarf. Klimt left no explanation, so most viewers see an image of closeness and trust between two women, and some read them as a couple. Birds, flowers and patterned creatures surround them on a pink-red background.
When did Klimt paint Girlfriends?
Klimt painted Girlfriends in 1916–1917, in the last years of his life, shortly before his death in February 1918. It belongs to his late, colourful period, after the golden years of The Kiss. The original was a square oil on canvas of 99 x 99 cm, the same proportion as our sizes.
Why was Girlfriends destroyed?
It was destroyed in the fire at Schloss Immendorf on 8 May 1945. The Lederer collection, to which it belonged, had been confiscated by the Nazis, and many of its works were stored at the castle. When the castle burned on the last day of the war in Europe, Girlfriends and several other Klimt paintings were lost.
Is Girlfriends the same painting as Water Serpents I?
No. Water Serpents I is sometimes also called Girlfriends, but it is an earlier, tall work from 1904, painted on parchment with gold. Our Girlfriends is the late square oil painting of 1916–1917, with two women in pink and red. Both are in our gallery, so compare the two before you order.
Is there gold in Girlfriends?
No, there is no gold in Girlfriends; it is painted in pinks, reds, white and dark accents. It comes from Klimt’s late period, after he had left the gold of The Kiss behind. We therefore paint our version in oil colours only, without gold paint, following the surviving colour reproduction as closely as possible.
Which size of Girlfriends suits my wall?
Above a sofa or a bed, 90 x 90 or 99 x 99 cm is a good choice; 99 x 99 cm is exactly the size of the original. A large wall can take 120 x 120 or 150 x 150 cm, and 70 x 70 or 80 x 80 cm suits a smaller space. If none fits, we paint it to measure.
Which room does Girlfriends suit?
It suits a bedroom, a dressing room or a living room with warm tones. The pinks and reds bring warmth, and the two figures give the room a quiet, intimate mood. As a canvas painting it works best where it can be seen from a little distance, above a sofa, a bed or a sideboard. Because one figure is nude, many owners choose a more private room.
Is Girlfriends a good gift?
Yes, for someone who loves Klimt’s colourful late work, friendship as a theme or warm interiors. It is a less familiar Klimt than The Kiss, which makes it a personal choice. If you are unsure of the size, choose 90 x 90 cm, or give a voucher so that they can choose the painting and the size themselves.
- Subject: two women close together, one nude, one in a red robe and white scarf, among birds and flowers on a pink-red ground.
- Original: 1916–1917, oil on canvas, 99 x 99 cm, destroyed in 1945.
- Ours: a Klimt reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, in square sizes or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.
