Gustav Klimt – Portrait of Helene Klimt

Portrait of Helene Klimt is a small, tender portrait that Gustav Klimt painted in 1898: his niece, a little girl seen in strict profile, with a thick dark brown bob, a straight fringe and a white frilled dress, set against a pale cream background. Klimt painted it in oil on cardboard, quickly and lightly, so that it looks almost like a sketch. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas, from the size of the original, 40 x 60 cm, up to 80 x 120 cm or to your own measurement, and send you a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.

Portrait of Helene Klimt – Gustav Klimt

What does the painting show?

A little girl sits turned to the left, so that we see her in strict profile, like a head on a coin. Her thick dark brown hair is cut in a straight bob that covers her ear and falls to her neck, with a heavy fringe above her eyes. Her face is small and pale, with a short nose, a closed mouth and a serious, thoughtful look, as if she were concentrating on something beyond the edge of the canvas.

She wears a white dress with a frilled collar and loose ruffles. Klimt paints it with a few quick, light strokes, so that the dress almost dissolves into the pale cream background, where faint vertical brushstrokes are still visible. The only strong dark in the whole work is her hair, and that is exactly where the eye goes first.

Who was Helene Klimt?

Helene Klimt was the painter’s niece, the daughter of his brother Ernst. Ernst Klimt was also a painter and had worked closely with Gustav in their early years; he died young, in 1892. When Klimt painted Helene in 1898, she was still a small child, and the portrait is one of the most personal works he ever made.

This is not a commissioned society portrait of a rich Viennese lady, but a portrait of a girl from his own family. That is why many people find it so touching: there is no jewellery, no gold and no pose, only a child sitting still for her uncle for a moment.

Why does it look so light and sketch-like?

Klimt painted it in oil on cardboard, not on canvas, and he left much of the surface open. The background and the dress are laid in thinly, with visible strokes, while the face and the hair are worked more carefully. The result is soft and airy, closer to a study than to the polished portraits of his later years.

In 1898 Klimt was turning towards a new style: a year earlier he had helped to found the Vienna Secession. The same year he painted the far grander Portrait of Sonja Knips. Next to it, Helene looks almost private, a quiet experiment with pale colour and a single strong silhouette.

Where is the original?

The original is in a private collection, so it is rarely on public view. It is a small work, 60 cm high and 40 cm wide, which also explains its intimate character: it was made to be looked at from close by, in a room, not in a large hall.

Because the original is so hard to see, a copy painted by hand is the most direct way to have this portrait on your own wall. There is more about the painter on Wikipedia’s Gustav Klimt page, and you can place the work among his other paintings in the list of paintings by Gustav Klimt.

Which other Klimt portraits go well with it?

If you like the quiet, pale tone of Helene, look at Portrait of Sonja Knips, painted in the same year: a young woman in a pink dress, seated in a dim room. Much later Klimt painted Portrait of a Lady (Ricci Oddi), a woman in profile against a green background, which shares the clear outline of the head with Helene.

For the theme of childhood, Mother and Child (detail) shows a mother with her sleeping child, a close-up full of tenderness. And Idyll is one of Klimt’s early works, with children and fruit in a classical setting. Two of these hang well together in a child’s room or a hallway, as a small family of Klimt portraits.

How do we paint it by hand?

The original is oil on cardboard; ours is a hand-painted oil copy on canvas. The painter first draws the profile with great care, because the whole work depends on the line of the forehead, the nose, the lips and the chin. Then comes the hair, built up in several dark brown layers so that it has depth and a soft shine, with the straight edge of the fringe left sharp.

The face is modelled with very light, warm tones, and the white dress and the cream background are painted last, with loose, open strokes, the way Klimt did it. A printed oil painting reproduction would turn these strokes into a flat surface; by hand they stay light and alive. 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 work, so we paint it in oil colours only.

Which size for which wall?

Short answer: 40 x 60 cm, the size of the original, for a child’s room, a bedside wall or a narrow space; 60 x 90 cm above a chest of drawers or a cot; 70 x 100 or 80 x 120 cm for a larger wall or above a bed.

Our sizes are 40 x 60, 60 x 90, 70 x 100 and 80 x 120 cm, all upright, in the proportion of the original. Because the work is so light and quiet, it does not need to be large: at 40 x 60 cm it keeps the intimate feeling of the cardboard original. As a painting for the living room, 70 x 100 or 80 x 120 cm gives the profile more presence, especially on a pale wall.

Hang it with the centre of the canvas about 150 cm above the floor, or a little lower in a child’s room, where it should be seen from a child’s height too.

Custom size, stretcher and frame

If none of the sizes fits your wall, we paint it to measure; keeping the upright proportion 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 thin white or natural wooden frame suits the pale tones; a slim gold frame gives the small portrait a more classical look.

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

Who is the girl in the Portrait of Helene Klimt?

She is Helene Klimt, the painter’s niece, the daughter of his brother Ernst Klimt, who was also a painter and died in 1892. Gustav painted her in 1898, when she was still a small child. It is one of his most personal works: a family portrait, not a commission, without gold or jewellery.

Where is the original Portrait of Helene Klimt?

The original is in a private collection, so it is rarely shown in public. It is a small work, painted in oil on cardboard, 60 cm high and 40 cm wide. Because it is so hard to see, a copy painted by hand is the most direct way to have this portrait at home, at the original size or larger.

When did Klimt paint Helene Klimt?

Klimt painted the portrait of Helene Klimt in 1898, a year after he had helped to found the Vienna Secession. In the same year he painted the Portrait of Sonja Knips. Both show his move towards a lighter, more modern portrait style, before the golden period of the following decade.

What technique did Klimt use for Helene Klimt?

Klimt painted Helene Klimt in oil on cardboard, with thin, loose strokes in the dress and the background and more careful work in the face and hair. That is why it looks so light, almost like a sketch. Our copy is painted by hand in oil on canvas, following the same open handling.

Is there gold in the Portrait of Helene Klimt?

No, there is no gold in the portrait of Helene Klimt. It was painted in 1898, before Klimt’s golden period, in pale cream, white, warm skin tones and dark brown. We therefore paint our version in oil colours only, without gold paint, so that it keeps the soft, airy character of the original.

Which size of Helene Klimt suits my wall?

The size of the original, 40 x 60 cm, suits a child’s room, a bedside wall or a narrow space. Choose 60 x 90 cm above a chest of drawers or a cot, and 70 x 100 or 80 x 120 cm for a larger wall or above a bed. If none fits, we paint it to measure.

Which room suits the Portrait of Helene Klimt?

It suits a child’s room or a nursery, a bedroom, a hallway or a quiet reading corner. The pale tones and the calm profile bring a gentle mood without taking over the room. As a canvas painting it works best on a light wall, where the dark hair stands out, and in good daylight.

Is Helene Klimt a good gift?

Yes, it is a lovely gift for the birth of a child, for a niece or a goddaughter, or for anyone who loves Klimt but prefers something quieter than The Kiss. If you are unsure of the size, the original 40 x 60 cm is a safe choice, or give a voucher so that they can choose themselves.

How long does a hand-painted Helene Klimt take?

Every copy of Helene Klimt is painted to order, so allow 15 to 45 days depending on the size. Before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished painting to approve, and we correct anything that is not right while the canvas is still in our workshop. Delivery across the EU is without customs.

• Subject: the painter’s little niece in strict profile, with a dark brown bob and a white frilled dress on a pale cream ground.
• Original: 1898, oil on cardboard, 60 x 40 cm, private collection.
• Ours: a Klimt reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, from 40 x 60 cm up to 80 x 120 cm or made to measure.
• Worth knowing: you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.