Description
Portrait of Eugenia Primavesi is the full-length portrait of 1913/14 in which Gustav Klimt paints the wife of his patron Otto Primavesi in a long, flower-covered dress against a glowing yellow background. The original is in the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art in Japan. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas, in eight upright sizes from 50 x 80 to 120 x 200 cm or to your own measurement.
| Title: | Portrait of Eugenia Primavesi |
| Other titles: | Eugenia Primavesi · Ritratto di Eugenia Primavesi |
| Painter: | Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) |
| Year painted: | 1913–1914 |
| Original size: | 140 cm x 85 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Vienna Secession |
| Located at: | Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Toyota (Japan) |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, eight upright sizes or made to measure |
Portrait of Eugenia Primavesi – Gustav Klimt
What does the painting show?
A woman stands facing us, shown at full length from head to feet. Her dark hair frames a calm face, and she wears a long, loose dress covered in flowers – red, pink, blue and green on a light ground – that falls all the way to the floor and fills much of the canvas.
Behind her the whole background glows in bright yellow and ochre, with patterned panels and, near the top, a small bird figure. Under her feet lies a floor that looks like a colourful carpet. The warm yellow and the cooler colours of the flowers make a cheerful, festive contrast that suits bright, sunny rooms.
Who were the Primavesi family?
Eugenia Primavesi was the wife of Otto Primavesi, a banker and industrialist. The couple were keen supporters of progressive Viennese art and design, and in Klimt’s last years they were among his most important patrons. They commissioned this portrait of Eugenia themselves.
Klimt painted her after the portrait of the couple’s daughter Mäda, and he probably finished it around Christmas 1913. For a buyer this gives the painting a clear story: it was made for the family who ordered it, as one of two portraits of a mother and her daughter.
What does the portrait mean?
It is the portrait of a self-assured woman, shown at full height and in full colour. Klimt uses no gold here: the warmth comes from yellow and ochre, and the life of the painting comes from the flowers of the dress and the patterns behind her. The face is painted calmly and clearly, while everything around it turns into ornament.
In his last years Klimt painted many women in strong colour rather than gold, and this portrait shows that change well. On a wall it reads as a bright, decorative field of colour from across the room and as a real person from close up, so it suits both modern and classic interiors.
Where is the painting today?
The original, an oil on canvas 140 cm high and 85 cm wide, is in the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art in the city of Toyota in Japan. Eugenia Primavesi left the portrait to her daughter in 1962, and in 1987 it was sold at auction in New York. More about the painter’s life is on Wikipedia.
If you plan a visit, check the museum’s website first, because works are sometimes moved or lent. Where Klimt’s other paintings are today is listed in the list of paintings by Gustav Klimt. Our version is not a print: it is painted for you, by hand, in the size you choose.
Eugenia Primavesi among Klimt’s late portraits
The closest relative of this painting is the Portrait of Mäda Primavesi, the portrait of her daughter that Klimt painted just before it. The Portrait of Johanna Staude, the Portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl and Friederike Maria Beer belong to the same late period, when Klimt painted women in strong colour against patterned backgrounds.
Which to choose? Take Eugenia Primavesi if you want a tall, calm figure of a woman in a flowered dress against warm yellow; take Mäda Primavesi if you prefer the portrait of the daughter. Hung side by side, mother and daughter make a natural pair, because they were painted one after the other for the same family.
How do we paint Portrait of Eugenia Primavesi by hand?
The painter first draws the figure and the main lines of the background, so that the standing pose, the fall of the dress and the panels behind her sit as in the original. Then the yellow background is built up in several layers, because its warm glow carries the whole painting.
Next comes the dress, flower by flower, in red, pink, blue and green, and finally the face and hair, modelled slowly until they look calm and alive. A printed oil painting reproduction cannot show the texture of these layers; by hand, every stroke keeps its relief. Every painting is a hand-painted copy made for your order, so no two are ever quite the same.
There is no gold in this portrait, so we work only with oil colours: the warm yellows and ochres of the background and the clear colours of the flowers.
Which size for which wall?
Short answer: 50 x 80 or 60 x 100 cm for a hallway or beside a bed, 70 x 120 or 80 x 130 cm beside a sofa or a sideboard, 84 x 140 or 90 x 150 cm for a high living room wall, and 100 x 170 or 120 x 200 cm for a staircase or an open space.
All eight sizes are upright: 50 x 80, 60 x 100, 70 x 120, 80 x 130, 84 x 140, 90 x 150, 100 x 170 and 120 x 200 cm. The size 84 x 140 cm is about the size of the original, and the others keep a very similar tall proportion. As a painting for the living room it works best beside the sofa, between two windows or in a niche, because the portrait is tall and narrow.
Hang it with the centre of the canvas about 150 to 160 cm above the floor; above furniture, leave 20 to 30 cm between the top of the piece and the lower edge of the canvas.
Custom size, stretcher and frame
If none of the eight sizes fits your wall, we paint it to measure. 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 warm gold frame picks up the yellow of the background; a white or light frame keeps the portrait airy; natural wood softens the whole.
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 Portrait of Eugenia Primavesi?
The original is in the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art in Toyota, Japan. It is an oil on canvas from 1913/14, 140 cm high and 85 cm wide. It was sold at auction in New York in 1987 and later came to the museum. If you plan a visit, check the museum’s website first; our version, painted by hand, can hang on your own wall.
Who was Eugenia Primavesi?
She was the wife of the banker and industrialist Otto Primavesi. Together they supported progressive Viennese art and design and were among Klimt’s most important patrons in his last years. They commissioned this full-length portrait, which Klimt painted after the portrait of their daughter Mäda, and Eugenia kept it until she left it to her daughter in 1962.
When did Klimt paint Eugenia Primavesi?
Klimt painted it in 1913 and 1914, a few years before his death in 1918, and probably finished it around Christmas 1913. It came right after the portrait of her daughter Mäda. Like many of his late portraits, it is painted in strong colour rather than the gold of his earlier work, which makes it bright and easy to live with.
What does Eugenia Primavesi wear in the portrait?
She wears a long, loose dress covered in flowers in red, pink, blue and green on a light ground. The dress falls to the floor and fills much of the canvas, so it matters as much as the face. Behind her, a bright yellow background with patterned panels and a small bird makes the colours of the dress shine.
Can I hang Eugenia Primavesi together with Mäda Primavesi?
Yes, if you have room for two paintings. Mother and daughter were painted one after the other for the same family, so the two portraits belong together naturally. Ask us to paint them to the same height, and hang them side by side with a gap of about 10 to 15 cm, so they read as one pair from across the room.
Which size of Eugenia Primavesi suits my wall?
For a hallway or beside a bed, choose 50 x 80 or 60 x 100 cm. Beside a sofa or a sideboard, 70 x 120 or 80 x 130 cm works well, for a high wall 84 x 140 or 90 x 150 cm, and for a staircase 100 x 170 or 120 x 200 cm. The size 84 x 140 cm is about the size of the original.
Which room suits Portrait of Eugenia Primavesi?
It suits a living room, a bedroom, a dining room or an entrance hall, anywhere you want warm colour and a calm figure. As a canvas painting it looks especially good on white, cream or light grey walls and next to light wood. Because it is tall and narrow, it fits well beside a sofa, a door or a window.
Is Portrait of Eugenia Primavesi a good gift?
Yes, for anyone who loves Klimt, Vienna around 1900, flowers or bright colour. The portrait is cheerful without being loud, and the story of the Primavesi family makes it a talking point for guests. If you are unsure of the size, 60 x 100 cm is a safe choice for most walls, or give a voucher so they can choose.
Is there gold in Portrait of Eugenia Primavesi?
No, there is no gold in this portrait. The glow comes from a warm yellow and ochre background, which Klimt combined with the bright flowers of the dress. That is why we paint it only with oil colours, building up the yellow in several layers so that it looks as warm and luminous as the original.
- Subject: a woman in a long, flower-covered dress, full length, against a glowing yellow background.
- Original: 1913–1914, oil on canvas, 140 x 85 cm, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
- Ours: a Klimt reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, in eight upright sizes or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.
