Description
Head Study of a Girl from Haná is a small oil study on wood that Gustav Klimt painted around 1883, presumably while he was still a student: the head and shoulders of a young woman in a large white headscarf over a yellow-ochre cap, her blue-grey eyes turned sideways, her face painted in fine detail against a light, almost monochrome background. The original measures only 28.6 x 22.7 cm and hangs in the Leopold Museum in Vienna. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas as an enlargement, in seven upright sizes from 50 x 60 to 120 x 150 cm or to your own measurement, and send you a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.
| Title: | Head Study of a Girl from Haná |
| Other titles: | Studienkopf einer Hannakin · Studio di testa di una ragazza della Haná · Girl from Haná |
| Painter: | Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) |
| Year painted: | about 1883 |
| Original size: | 28.6 cm x 22.7 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil on wood |
| Painting style: | Historicism, academic head study |
| Located at: | Leopold Museum, Vienna (inv. 4143) |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, enlarged, seven upright sizes or made to measure |
Head Study of a Girl from Haná – Gustav Klimt
What does the painting show?
Head Study of a Girl from Haná shows the head and shoulders of a young woman, seen close up. Her face is turned towards us, but her blue-grey eyes look sideways to the left, past the viewer, as if something outside the frame had caught her attention. Her mouth is calm and serious, with red lips. A yellow-ochre cap sits close around her hair, and over it lies a large white headscarf that frames the face and falls loosely onto her shoulders.
Everything around the face is painted quickly and lightly: the scarf, the dress and the background are loose strokes of white, pale grey and beige, almost a single colour. Against that airy ground the face stands out, modelled with care and full of detail. No room, no landscape, no story – only a girl, a scarf and a glance.
A Haná headscarf on a small wooden panel
Haná is a fertile lowland region in central Moravia, today part of the Czech Republic, and according to the Leopold Museum the girl’s large white headscarf is typical of that region. The German title, Studienkopf einer Hannakin, uses the old word for a woman from Haná. The museum does not give her name; the title describes her only by the place she came from.
The whole study is painted on a wooden panel just 28.6 cm high and 22.7 cm wide, roughly the size of a sheet of A4 paper. That is why every size we offer is an enlargement: about twice the original at the smallest size and more than five times at the largest. We tell you this openly, so that you know exactly what you are ordering – Klimt’s study, painted by hand at a size the original never had, and on canvas instead of wood.
What does it tell us about the young Klimt?
The panel is not dated. The Leopold Museum places it around 1883 and assumes that Klimt painted it while he was still a student; he was born in 1862, so he was about twenty. He trained at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts, and a head study like this one is exactly the kind of exercise with which a young painter trains hand and eye.
The museum points to the great technical skill it shows: Klimt joins a detailed, carefully modelled face with an almost monochrome background, painting the dress, the headscarf and the background in a light, airy manner. The sideways glance gives the study its spontaneous character.
Where is the original?
The original is in the Leopold Museum in Vienna under inventory number 4143, and according to the museum it is on display. It came into the Leopold Museum private foundation in 1994. Close up you see how the face is built from fine strokes while the scarf is only a few quick touches of white.
If you plan a visit, check the museum’s website first, because works are sometimes moved or lent to exhibitions. More about Klimt’s life is on Wikipedia’s Klimt page.
Head Study of a Girl from Haná among Klimt’s works
In our gallery this study has relatives among Klimt’s portraits and early works. Portrait of Helene Klimt is the profile of his young niece, painted in 1898, and Portrait of Sonja Knips from the same year shows a young woman in a pale pink dress – like the girl from Haná, both are quiet portraits of real people. Forest Floor is a tiny oil sketch from about 1881/82, and Idyll is another work from his early years in the 1880s.
Choose the girl from Haná if you want a single face, natural colours and the fresh, loose touch of a study; if you would rather have a seated figure and more colour, Sonja Knips suits you better, and if you are looking for a child’s portrait, Helene Klimt.
How do we paint the girl from Haná by hand?
First the painter transfers the proportions to the large canvas with a grid, so that the face, the scarf and the glance sit exactly where Klimt placed them. Then the light ground goes on in thin layers of white, pale grey and beige, and the face is built up slowly: the warm skin tones, the shadow under the cap, the red lips and the blue-grey eyes.
The face is finished last and with the greatest care; the scarf and the dress stay loose and quick, as in the original. A printed oil painting reproduction would flatten that contrast between the careful face and the airy background; painted by hand, every stroke keeps its texture. Every painting is a hand-painted copy made for your order, so no two are quite alike.
There is no gold in this study and none in our version: we use oil colours only. Klimt painted on wood; we paint on canvas, which is lighter and easier to hang at a large size.
Which size for which wall?
In short: 50 x 60 or 63 x 79 cm for a small wall, a hallway, a study or beside a bookcase; 70 x 90 or 80 x 100 cm above a chest of drawers, a desk or a bed; 90 x 110 or 100 x 125 cm above a sofa; and 120 x 150 cm for a large wall or a high room.
All seven sizes are upright like the panel, and all of them are enlargements: the original is only 22.7 cm wide and 28.6 cm high, so even 50 x 60 cm is about twice its size, and at the largest sizes the face is larger than life. The 80 x 100, 100 x 125 and 120 x 150 cm sizes have the 4:5 proportion, which is almost exactly that of the original; on the others a little more or a little less of the light background shows at the edges. As a painting for the living room, 90 x 110 or 100 x 125 cm above a sofa gives the face real presence.
Hang it with the centre of the canvas about 150 to 160 cm above the floor, so that the eyes are roughly at your own eye level; over furniture, leave 20 to 30 cm between the top of the furniture and the lower edge of the canvas.
Custom size, stretcher and frame
If none of the seven sizes fits your wall, we paint it to measure; keep the upright proportion close to 4:5, so that the face and the scarf stay where Klimt put them. Send us the width and height you want and we will quote the price and delivery time. Every painting we make is stretched on a wooden stretcher frame 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. Natural wood, warm old gold or plain white suits the pale colours; thin black looks more modern.
Delivery and guarantee
Every painting is made to order in our studio, 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 gift and you are not sure of the size, there is our gift voucher. More of Klimt’s work is in our Gustav Klimt gallery, and more about the painter in our article 10 interesting facts about Gustav Klimt.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original Head Study of a Girl from Haná?
The original is in the Leopold Museum in Vienna, inventory number 4143, and according to the museum it is on display. It is a small oil on a wooden panel, dated to about 1883. Because works are sometimes moved or lent, check the museum’s website before you visit. Our versions are enlargements of it, painted by hand in oil on canvas.
How big is Klimt’s Girl from Haná?
The original is small: 28.6 cm high and 22.7 cm wide, painted in oil on wood, roughly the size of a sheet of A4 paper. That is why all our sizes, from 50 x 60 to 120 x 150 cm, are enlargements painted by hand on canvas. The 80 x 100 cm size keeps almost exactly the proportion of Klimt’s panel.
When did Klimt paint the Girl from Haná?
The panel is not dated; the Leopold Museum places it around 1883 and assumes that Klimt painted it while he was still a student, at about twenty. It comes from his years of training, long before his golden period, and already shows his care for a face.
Who is the girl from Haná in Klimt’s study?
Her name is not recorded: the museum describes her only as a girl from Haná, a region in central Moravia, today in the Czech Republic. Her large white headscarf over a yellow-ochre cap is typical of that region. The painting is a study, and its title names the place she came from rather than the person herself.
What headscarf does the girl from Haná wear?
She wears a large white headscarf over a close-fitting yellow-ochre cap, and according to the Leopold Museum it is typical of the Haná region in Moravia. Klimt paints it with a few loose strokes of white and pale grey, so that it frames the face softly and falls onto the shoulders.
Can the Girl from Haná be painted in a large size?
Yes. Because the original is only 28.6 x 22.7 cm, every size we offer is an enlargement, painted by hand from Klimt’s composition. At 50 x 60 cm it is about twice the original, at 120 x 150 cm more than five times. The face is painted with the same care as in the study.
Which size of the Girl from Haná suits my wall?
For a small wall, a hallway or a study, 50 x 60 or 63 x 79 cm works well. Above a chest of drawers, a desk or a bed choose 70 x 90 or 80 x 100 cm, above a sofa 90 x 110 or 100 x 125 cm, and for a large wall 120 x 150 cm. The 80 x 100 cm size keeps the proportion of the original almost exactly.
Which room suits the Head Study of a Girl from Haná?
It suits a bedroom, a study, a hallway, a reading corner or a calm living room – anywhere a quiet face and soft, pale colours are welcome. As a canvas painting it goes well with white, cream or grey walls, light wood and linen. Hang it at eye level, where the sideways glance works best.
Is the Girl from Haná a good gift?
Yes, especially for someone with roots in Moravia or the Czech lands, or for anyone who likes portraits and the early, less known side of Klimt. The story of a small student study on a wooden panel makes it a gift with something to tell. If you are not sure of the size, choose 80 x 100 cm, or give a voucher so the recipient can choose.
- Subject: a young woman from Haná in a large white headscarf over a yellow-ochre cap, her blue-grey eyes turned sideways.
- Original: about 1883, oil on wood, 28.6 x 22.7 cm, Leopold Museum, Vienna (inv. 4143).
- Our version: a Klimt reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas as an enlargement, in seven upright sizes or made to measure.
- Good to know: before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval.
