Portrait of Sonja Knips, 1898

The Portrait of Sonja Knips was shown at the second exhibition of the Vienna Secession in 1898 and was an early example of Klimt’s remarkable ability to synthesise disparate stylistic elements into something utterly individual and distinctive. The dominant influences here are from Japanese woodblock prints and from Whistler (an artist who had already shown how to incorporate Japanese elements into Western portraits). The Japanese influence is apparent in the startling asymmetry of the composition, the use of empty spaces as positive compositional elements (notably in the spaces between the sitter’s arms and torso as well as the large empty space on the left of the picture) and the strange intrusion of flowers into the picture space from the left and the right. Klimt could have seen a similar use of flowers in Whistler’s Portrait of Cecily Alexander. Whistler’s influence also shows itself in the delicately muddy, soft-focus technique and in the muted and exquisite colour harmony. The sweet femininity of the sitter is counteracted by features that introduce elements of tension into the picture, such as the suggestion of a grotesque mask in the background, the tense claw-like pose of her left hand on the arm of the chair and the mysterious little red book she holds so tentatively in her right hand.