Description
Portrait of Mäda Primavesi is Klimt’s portrait of a nine-year-old girl, painted in 1912–13: Mäda stands facing us with her legs apart and her hands on her hips, in a white dress with a garland of flowers at the waist and a white bow in her long brown hair, against a pink-violet background scattered with small flowers and birds. The original is in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas, in five upright sizes from 50 x 65 to 120 x 160 cm or to your own measurement.
| Title: | Portrait of Mäda Primavesi |
| Other titles: | Mäda Primavesi · Ritratto di Mäda Primavesi · Portret Mäde Primavesi |
| Painter: | Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) |
| Year painted: | 1912–1913 |
| Original size: | 149.9 cm x 110.5 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Vienna Secession, late work |
| Located at: | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. 64.148) |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, five upright sizes or made to measure |
Portrait of Mäda Primavesi – Gustav Klimt
What does the painting show?
A young girl stands in the middle of the canvas, seen full-length and from the front. Her feet are planted apart, her hands rest on her hips, and her expression is calm and self-assured. She wears a white dress with a garland of flowers around the waist, and her long brown hair is held by a white bow.
Around her, Klimt opens up a whole garden. The background is pink and violet, scattered with small flowers and birds, and at her feet the floor turns into a carpet of colourful flowers and little creatures. The white dress stands out bright and clear against all that colour, so the eye goes straight to the girl. That is the charm of the painting: a real child with plenty of character, set in a cheerful, decorative world.
Who made Mäda’s dress?
Emilie Flöge, Klimt’s close companion and a fashion designer in Vienna. Klimt did not simply paint the girl in whatever she happened to wear. According to The Met, he made numerous sketches trying out her pose, the setting and her outfit, and in the end he dressed her in a dress made by Emilie Flöge.
That is why the dress matters so much in the painting. Its clean white, with the band of flowers at the waist, holds the whole composition together and keeps the girl calm and clear in the middle of the busy, colourful background. If you love the portrait Klimt painted of Emilie Flöge herself, this painting shows another side of their closeness: her design, painted by him.
Why does Mäda look so confident?
Because of her pose. Klimt shows her standing squarely, legs apart and hands on her hips, like someone who knows exactly who she is. The Met describes her expression as one that conveys confidence, and the whole figure says the same thing. It is not the shy, sweet child many people expect from a portrait painted more than a century ago.
The numerous sketches Klimt made show how carefully he searched for that stance before settling on it. The result feels lively and modern: a small person who fills a large canvas with her own character. That is why it works so well in a family home – it is a painting about a strong, cheerful childhood, not about a famous name.
Who was Mäda Primavesi, and where is the painting now?
Mäda Primavesi was born in 1903 and lived until 2000, so she was nine when Klimt painted her in 1912 and 1913. The original is an oil on canvas, 149.9 cm high and 110.5 cm wide. It belongs to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which received it in 1964 as a gift from André and Clara Mertens, in memory of Clara’s mother, Jenny Pulitzer Steiner. More about the painter’s life is on Wikipedia.
The Met lists it under accession number 64.148 and shows it in Gallery 800. If you plan a visit, check the museum’s website first, because works are sometimes moved or lent. Our version is not a print: it is painted for you, by hand, in the size you choose.
Portrait of Mäda Primavesi among Klimt’s portraits
Our gallery lets you see Mäda next to related works. Emilie Flöge is Klimt’s portrait of the woman who made Mäda’s dress. The early Portrait of Helene Klimt shows his young niece, and the late Baby (Cradle) is our other child portrait, a small child on a tall pile of colourful blankets. The soft Portrait of Sonja Knips shows how differently he painted a young woman in a pale dress more than a decade earlier. Her mother appears in Portrait of Eugenia Primavesi, painted right after Mäda’s: choose the daughter for a bold, playful child portrait, the mother for a calm, tall figure in a flowered dress – or hang the two together.
Portrait of Mäda Primavesi is the brightest and boldest of them. Choose it if you want colour, energy and a strong standing figure; if you would rather have a calm, intimate face, Helene Klimt or Sonja Knips will suit you better, and if you want a baby, Baby (Cradle).
How do we paint Portrait of Mäda Primavesi by hand?
The painter starts with the standing figure, so that the frontal pose, the angle of the arms and the position of the feet match the original exactly. Then the background is laid in: the pink and violet field with its small flowers and birds, painted lightly so that it shimmers behind her rather than crowding her.
The carpet of flowers and little creatures at the bottom follows, colour by colour, and then the white dress, built up in soft layers so that it stays bright but never flat. The face, the brown hair and the white bow come last, with special care for her confident expression. A printed oil painting reproduction cannot show these layers of colour; by hand, every stroke keeps its texture. 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 painting, so we paint it in oil colours only, just as Klimt did.
Which size for which wall?
Short answer: 50 x 65 or 60 x 80 cm for a small wall, a child’s room or beside a bed, 80 x 100 cm above a sofa, a sideboard or a desk, 100 x 130 cm for a large living room wall, and 120 x 160 cm for an open-plan space, a staircase or a high wall.
All five sizes are upright: 50 x 65, 60 x 80, 80 x 100, 100 x 130 and 120 x 160 cm. Their proportion is close to that of the original, so the girl, the flowered background and the carpet at her feet keep their places with almost nothing lost at the edges. At 120 x 160 cm our version is slightly larger than the original. As a painting for the living room, 100 x 130 cm above a sofa gives her real presence; in a child’s room, 60 x 80 cm is cheerful without being overwhelming.
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 five sizes fits your wall, we paint it to measure; keep it close to the original proportion, so the composition does not change. 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 white frame keeps it light and fresh; a thin gold or natural wood frame warms the pink and violet; a black one makes the white dress stand out even more.
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 Mäda Primavesi?
The original is in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, accession number 64.148, and the museum shows it in Gallery 800. It is an oil on canvas from 1912–13, 149.9 cm high and 110.5 cm wide. It came to The Met in 1964 as a gift from André and Clara Mertens. Check the website before a visit, because displays change.
Who was Mäda Primavesi?
She was the girl in this portrait, born in 1903 and living until 2000. Klimt painted her in 1912 and 1913, when she was nine years old. Today she is known around the world through this painting, which shows her standing confidently in a white dress, hands on her hips, in front of a colourful garden of flowers and birds.
How old was Mäda Primavesi when Klimt painted her?
She was nine. Mäda was born in 1903, and Klimt painted her portrait in 1912 and 1913. The Met describes her expression as conveying confidence, and her pose, with legs apart and hands on her hips, matches it. Klimt made numerous sketches of her pose, the setting and her outfit before he settled on the final composition.
Who made the dress in the Portrait of Mäda Primavesi?
Emilie Flöge, Klimt’s close companion, made the dress. After many sketches trying out her pose, setting and outfit, Klimt finally painted Mäda in this white dress with a garland of flowers at the waist. Its clean white keeps the girl bright and clear against the busy pink and violet background, and it links the painting with Flöge’s own portrait.
Is there gold in the Portrait of Mäda Primavesi?
No, there is no gold in this painting. Its colours are white for the dress, pink and violet for the background, brown for the hair and many bright tones in the flowers, birds and little creatures. We therefore paint our version in oil colours only, without gold paint, so that it keeps the fresh, cheerful look of the original.
What is in the background of the Mäda Primavesi portrait?
A pink-violet field scattered with small flowers and birds, like a garden or a patterned wall. At the bottom the floor turns into a carpet of colourful flowers and little creatures. Together they frame the girl in white and give the whole painting a cheerful, decorative feeling that suits family homes especially well.
Which size of Mäda Primavesi suits my wall?
For a small wall, a child’s room or beside a bed, choose 50 x 65 or 60 x 80 cm. Above a sofa or sideboard, 80 x 100 cm works well, and for a large wall 100 x 130 or 120 x 160 cm. All five sizes are upright and close to the original proportion, so nothing important is lost at the edges.
Which room suits the Portrait of Mäda Primavesi?
It suits a living room, a child’s or teenager’s room, a playroom or a bright hallway, anywhere you want colour and a cheerful, confident figure. As a canvas painting it looks lovely on white, cream or soft grey walls and with light wood. In a child’s room choose 60 x 80 cm; above a sofa, 100 x 130 cm.
Is the Portrait of Mäda Primavesi a good gift?
Yes, especially for a family with a daughter, for a godchild or for anyone who loves Klimt in his most colourful mood. The confident girl and the garden of flowers make it a joyful present. If you are unsure of the size, 60 x 80 cm is a safe choice, or give a voucher so they can choose themselves.
- Subject: nine-year-old Mäda Primavesi standing with her hands on her hips, in a white dress with a flower garland, against a pink-violet background with flowers and birds.
- Original: 1912–13, oil on canvas, 149.9 x 110.5 cm, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
- Ours: a Klimt reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, in five upright sizes or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.
