Portrait of Baroness Elisabeth Bachofen-Echt, 1914-1916

Baroness Elisabeth Bachofen-Echt was the daughter of Klimt’s most important patron, the industrialist August Lederer. He generously loaned Klimt the 30,000 crowns needed to repay the advance he had received from University of Vienna in order to re-acquire his controversial ceilings. Lederer then bought the panel Philosophy from the artist.

With equal generosity of spirit, several years later, Klimt introduced his best patron to the young Egon Schiele who was commissioned to paint Lederer’s son Erich and to give the young boy art lessons. Baroness Elisabeth Bachofen-Echt was the second female member of the family painted by Klimt. He had already painted her mother Serena Lederer in 1899 and he would go on to paint her grandmother Charlotte Pulitzer in 1915. The portraits of Serena Lederer and her daughter are in stark contrast with one another. The mother’s portrait is a delicate Whistlerian harmony in white, whereas the Baroness’ portrait was painted in the riotous colours of Klimt’s late manner. As in the Portrait of Friederike Maria Beer and the second Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, the figures in the background are lifted from the decoration of oriental ceramics.