Gustav Klimt – Lady with a Fan

Lady with a Fan is the last portrait Gustav Klimt completed before his death in 1918: a young woman with her dark hair pinned up and one shoulder bare looks back over her shoulder, holding an open fan, while birds, a phoenix and lotus blossoms crowd the bright yellow background behind her. In June 2023 it sold in London for 85.3 million pounds, at the time the highest price ever paid for an artwork at auction in Europe. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas, in square sizes or made to measure, and send you a photo of the finished painting for approval before it ships.

Lady with a Fan – Gustav Klimt

What does the painting show?

The painting is square and shows a young woman down to the waist. Her dark hair is pinned up high, one shoulder is bare, and she looks back over her shoulder to the right, as if someone had just called her name. In her hand she holds an open fan with pink and dark patterns, and a loose patterned robe slips from her shoulders.

Behind her spreads a bright yellow background full of birds, lotus blossoms and other flowers. The most striking is a phoenix with blue and green plumage, opening out beside her head. There is no gold here: in his last years Klimt painted with strong, clear colours, so on the wall the painting feels light and cheerful, almost like a spring garden.

Why is Lady with a Fan so famous?

An auction made it famous. On 27 June 2023 it sold at Sotheby’s in London for 85.3 million pounds, about 108 million US dollars, after ten minutes of bidding. At the time that made it the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction in Europe. Al Jazeera was among those that reported the sale.

The second reason is its place in Klimt’s life. It is the last portrait he completed before his death in 1918, and many see it as the farewell of the great Viennese painter. If you buy a painting for its story, this one gives you two: a record price and the end of an era.

What do the birds and lotus flowers mean?

The background is inspired by Chinese art. The phoenix and the lotus are old, much-loved motifs there, and Klimt used them as ornament that wraps the woman in colour and movement. He never explained the meaning of the individual birds, so the painting stays open: some see elegance in it, others a mystery, others simply the beauty of the colours.

The woman remains a mystery too, because nobody knows who she was. So the painting is not the portrait of a particular person but of a glance, a gesture and a moment. The fan, the bare shoulder and the look over the shoulder give the sense that the painter caught her in mid-movement.

Where is the original today?

The original is an oil on canvas measuring 100 x 100 cm, painted in 1917–1918. Today it is in a private collection, so you cannot see it in a museum. After the 2023 auction it disappeared from public view again.

Klimt died in 1918, and the portrait is among the last works he finished. That is why it is seen as an important part of his legacy and as a painting that shows where his art turned after the Golden Period: towards colour, pattern and ideas from distant lands.

Which Klimt works are close to Lady with a Fan?

From the same last years comes the painting titled Portrait of Johanna Staude, a woman in a colourful blouse against a plain background, and the unfinished painting titled Lady in White. If you love the colourful background, look also at the painting titled The Dancer, another late portrait of a woman before a flowering background.

Klimt had started on the road from gold to colour earlier, as the painting titled Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II shows. More about the painter and his periods is on English Wikipedia.

How is our hand-painted version made?

The original is an oil on canvas, and our oil painting reproduction is also painted in oils on canvas, so it shares the technique of Klimt’s work. The painter first divides the square and sketches the woman, the fan and the birds, then in thin layers paints the yellow background, the phoenix’s feathers, the flowers, and finally the face and skin.

The video at the top of the page shows our hand-painted copy close up. The first photograph shows the same painting in a wide gold frame on an easel in our studio, taken from the front, and the second photograph shows it at an angle among frame mouldings. That way you can see how the yellow background works with a gold frame.

We paint every painting for your order alone, with visible brushstrokes. A print has no relief of paint and does not glow when the sun falls on it.

Which size for which wall?

In short: above a sofa or a bed choose 100 x 100 or 120 x 120 cm, and for a smaller wall 60 x 60 or 80 x 80 cm. The sizes available are 50 x 50, 60 x 60, 80 x 80, 90 x 90, 100 x 100, 120 x 120, 138 x 138 and 150 x 150 cm.

All sizes are square, like the original. The 100 x 100 cm size is the same as Klimt’s painting, so it is the choice for anyone who wants to see the work at its true scale. As a painting for the living room it looks best above a sofa or a sideboard, where the yellow background lights up the room. The largest sizes, 138 x 138 and 150 x 150 cm, suit big walls and high rooms, and 50 x 50 cm a hallway or a small corner.

Custom size, stretcher and frame

If you need another size, we paint the painting to measure. Send us the width and height you want and we will send you the price and the time it takes. Every painting from our studio is stretched on a wooden stretcher bar and ready to hang.

Our 3D application helps you choose the moulding: it shows every one of our frame profiles on this motif, from gold and silver to black, white and natural wood, and it is used only for choosing the frame. If you want to see the painting on your own wall, that is our separate room-placement service. A wide gold frame like the one in the photographs brings out the warmth of the yellow, while a slim white or black frame gives a modern look.

Delivery and guarantee

We paint it to order in our studio in Slovenia, so allow 15 to 45 days, depending on the size. We ship it stretched and protected, framed if you chose a frame, across the EU without customs duty. Before dispatch you receive a photo of the finished painting for approval; if something is not right, we correct it while the canvas is still with us. Every order is covered by our returns policy.

You will find more of Klimt’s works in the Gustav Klimt gallery, and more about him in our article with ten facts about Klimt. If the painting is a gift and you are unsure of the size, choose a gift voucher, so the person receiving it picks the motif and size.

Frequently asked questions

How much did Lady with a Fan sell for?

Lady with a Fan sold at Sotheby’s in London on 27 June 2023 for 85.3 million pounds, about 108 million US dollars. The bidding lasted ten minutes. At the time it was the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction in Europe, and the painting moved overnight into the ranks of Klimt’s best-known works.

What does Lady with a Fan show?

Lady with a Fan shows a young woman down to the waist, with her dark hair pinned up and one shoulder bare, looking back over her shoulder to the right and holding an open fan. She wears a loose patterned robe. Behind her is a bright yellow background with birds, a blue and green phoenix, lotus blossoms and other flowers.

Who is the woman in Lady with a Fan?

Who the woman in Lady with a Fan was is not known. Klimt did not record her name, so the portrait stayed nameless and is known only by the fan in her hand. That mystery is part of its appeal: we are not looking at a particular person but at a glance, a gesture and the colours the painter caught near the end of his life.

Where is Lady with a Fan now?

Lady with a Fan is now in a private collection, so it is not on show in any museum. After the record auction in London in June 2023 the painting disappeared from public view again. If you would like to have it in front of you every day, we paint it for you in oil on canvas, including at the original size of 100 x 100 cm.

Is Lady with a Fan Klimt’s last painting?

Lady with a Fan is the last portrait Klimt completed before his death in 1918. It was painted in 1917–1918, when he worked with strong colours and backgrounds inspired by distant lands. That is why many see it as the painter’s farewell, even though not only finished works were left in his studio.

What do the birds and flowers in Lady with a Fan mean?

The birds and flowers in Lady with a Fan belong to a background inspired by Chinese art, in which the phoenix and the lotus are much-loved motifs. Klimt never explained their meaning, so most people read them as ornament that surrounds the woman with colour and movement. The blue and green phoenix beside her head stands out most of all.

Is Lady with a Fan painted with gold?

No, Lady with a Fan is not painted with gold. Klimt used gold in his Golden Period, but for this late painting he chose strong colours: the yellow background, the blue and green feathers and the pink patterns on the fan. Our version has no gold paint either; only the frame can be gold, if you choose one.

Which size of Lady with a Fan should I choose?

For Lady with a Fan above a sofa or a bed, 100 x 100 cm is a good choice, and it is also the size of the original; for bigger walls take 120 x 120 cm. Because this canvas painting is square, it sits well above a sideboard or in the middle of an empty wall. For smaller rooms 60 x 60 and 80 x 80 cm work well, and 50 x 50 cm for a hallway.

Is Lady with a Fan a good gift?

Yes, Lady with a Fan makes a lovely gift for a birthday, a housewarming or anyone who loves colour and Klimt. Since we paint every painting individually, we can match the size to the recipient’s room, and before dispatch you get a photo of the finished work. If you do not know the size, a gift voucher is the better choice.

• Motif: a young woman with an open fan looking back over her shoulder, before a yellow background with a phoenix, birds and lotus.
• Original: 1917–1918, oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm, private collection; the last portrait Klimt completed.
• Ours: a Klimt reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, in square sizes or made to measure.
• Worth knowing: the 100 x 100 cm size is the same as the original.