Johanna Staude
Short hair, cool blue eyes, black boa and bright blouse: Klimt grabs a modern woman without locking her into the worldly portrait. The mouth and certain areas of the clothing still show the work in progress.
Why is Johanna Staude a crucial portrait of the last Klimt?
Because the face remains precise and individual while the blouse almost becomes an abstract painting. Blue, white, black and orange background no longer describe just a garment or a piece: they construct a modern, direct presence, free of ceremonial gold.
The work remained unfinished when Klimt died in February 1918. However, "unfinished" does not mean formless. The look, hairstyle, boa and colorful structure are already fully decided. What remains open even allows us to see how Klimt moved from one area to another.
Who was Johanna Staude?
Johanna Widlicka was born in Vienna on February 16, 1883 into a family linked to the arts. Viennese directories present her as a language teacher. Later she was also registered as a painter, although no personal works are known today.
She does not belong to the circle of large wealthy sponsors that Klimt represents in sumptuous dresses. A letter sent in 1930 to sculptor Anton Hanak describes the deceased painter as a "wonderful friend, understanding confidant and educator". This proximity makes plausible the hypothesis of a friendly portrait or a gift rather than a classic commercial order.
Johanna provides a very different presence from that of Adèle Bloch-Bauer or Fritza Riedler. The short cut, the frontal gaze and the tight framing evoke less an image of social rank than a personality accustomed to the artistic circles of Vienna.
The blue collar is actually a whole system of leaves
What we remember as a blue collar belongs to an entire blouse, the pattern of which comes from the Wiener Werkstätte.
The dominant blue
Turquoise blue is not just a fabric background. It responds directly to the eyes and makes the portrait colder, sharper and more modern.
White leaves
The light shapes move forward and backward like scales. Klimt reproduces the textile design without transforming it into a mechanical grid.
Red accents
Small warm touches run through the blouse. They form the link between the garment, the lips and the orange background.
The black boa
The dark mass separates the face from the clothing and gives the head a sort of flexible, almost theatrical base.
The orange background
The complementary contrast reinforces the blue. The space almost does not recede: the color pushes the model towards the viewer.
The short cut
The hairstyle clears the forehead and cheeks. She participates as much as textiles in the image of an urban woman from the 1910s.
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What's unfinished?
The mouth is often referred to as the most visible evidence of incompleteness. However, researcher Franz Smola points out that Klimt's late painting deliberately leaves areas of canvas open and that the lips do not necessarily appear more "incomplete" than other passages.
The garment provides a stronger clue. Some sheets are laid precisely, others remain sketchy, and the transition between blouse, boa and background has not received the same degree of finish everywhere. The orange background is decided, but it could still have accommodated other motifs, notably Asian, as in several late portraits.
The painting thus shows two speeds. Klimt first fixes the face and expression, then makes the colored environment around it grow. The painter's death interrupts this movement before all areas reach an equivalent state.
Six decisions prove that the work is not a simple outline
The material finish remains partial, but the major visual relationships are firmly established.
Framing
The bust is cut near the arms. Proximity makes the face immediately present.
Triangle
Hair, shoulders and boa make up a dark base that stabilizes the head.
Complementary
Blue of the blouse and orange of the background produce the main contrast.
Repetitions
Blue eyes, collar and textile connects face and clothing.
Frontality
The fixed gaze prevents the pattern from transforming Johanna into a simple model.
Breathing
The less covered passages let the canvas vibrate and speed up the touch.
Klimt's last workshop
Johanna poses against the backdrop of Klimt's final years, as war, inflation and a new artistic generation transform Vienna.
The house-workshop
Klimt worked at Feldmühlgasse 11 from 1911. It was there that he undertook his last portraits and large compositions. Public domain.
Restored workshop
The current restitution allows us to understand the scale of the place, the side light and the distance necessary for large formats. Photo Bwag, CC BY-SA 3.0.
A sober decor
The workspace was less saturated than the paintings. The model, fabrics and canvas concentrated the color. Photo Bwag, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Johanna wasn't just "Klimt's model"
In 1918 -1919, she took charge of the home of Peter Altenberg, emblematic writer of Viennese cafés. This activity places her in direct contact with an environment where literature, architecture, fashion, music and visual arts respond to each other.
A preparatory drawing by Klimt kept in a private collection also bears a dedication by Peter Altenberg dated February 21, 1918, a few days after the painter's death. Johanna also owned several other drawings by Klimt, which confirms a lasting relationship with her circle.
Records also show trips to New York in the 1920s and early 1930s. Language proficiency, mobility and taste for clothing contribute to the image of an active woman, far from the passive role of "muse" that ancient stories too easily attribute to models.
Compare Fritza Riedler and Amalie Zuckerkandl
The three works preserved at Belvedere make visible the evolution of Klimt's portrait, from ceremonial construction to the interrupted late touch.
Johanna is located between these two poles. It is much more constructed than Amalie Zuckerkandl, but less closed and ceremonial than Fritza Riedler. Color no longer serves to signify luxury: it becomes an independent energy.
Johanna kept her portrait for forty-five years
This continuity is exceptional. The painting did not immediately go through the market or through a succession of collectors: it remained with the person represented.
In 1928, Johanna deposited Klimt's portrait and two drawings at Belvedere for an unspecified period. In 1962, the work was loaned to the Klimt centenary exhibition. The museum bought it the following year directly from Johanna, then aged eighty.
The price of 155,000 Austrian schillings is paid in monthly installments, according to a system close to a life annuity. The last payment came in April 1965. Johanna died in Vienna on July 2, 1967.
Where to see Johanna Staude today?
The portrait belongs to Belvedere, which preserves twenty-four oil paintings by Klimt according to its 2026 institutional file. The work is part of the journey devoted to Viennese modernity at the upper Belvedere.
The museum allows you to follow the evolution of portraits from Sonja Knips and Fritza Riedler to Johanna Staude and Amalie Zuckerkandl. This proximity is precious: it shows that the incompleteness of 1918 suppresses neither the precision of the face nor the power of the motif.
A collision that may change, consult it official page of the Klimt collection before your visit. On site, especially look at the difference between the very formulated blue eye, the supple contour of the mouth and the still open leaves of the blouse.
Seven details to preserve
The main trap is to "correct" the work by closing all areas. Good reproduction must maintain density differences.
The entire framing
The top of the hairstyle, shoulders and lower bust limit should not be cut.
Turquoise blue
It must remain bright without becoming electric or uniform green.
The orange background
Its warmth strengthens the eyes and the blouse: a neutral beige would destroy the balance.
The boa mat
Black contains soft rhythms and edges, not a flat, clogged mass.
The reserves
Less covered passages must remain visible to restore the interrupted state.
The precise face
The skin requires finer transitions than the leaves and bottom.
Mouth open
It should neither be hardened with too clear an outline nor made artificially blurred.
Compare three portraits of Klimt
These images come from active product sheets in the store. They are presented as painted reproductions, distinct from the museum's photographs and scans.
1917 -1918 · BLUE AND ORANGEJohanna StaudeA tight vertical format where hairstyle, black boa and "Blätter" textile dominate.
See format →
1906 · WORLDLY PORTRAITFritza RiedlerA more ceremonial composition where seat, dress and background form a decorative architecture.
Compare →
1917 -1918 · LAST WAYLady in WhiteAnother late portrait where light clothing, free color and simplification of the background announce a new language.
Discover →Extend around Klimt and Vienna 1900
Each link corresponds to an active collection controlled in the store catalog.
Works preserved or associated with the great Viennese collection.
Explore →42 WORKSPortraits of Gustav KlimtModels, sponsors and metamorphoses of the decor.
Explore →103 WORKSArt Nouveau portraitsModern hairstyles, fabrics and lines around 1900.
Explore →147 WORKSWomen and elegance Art NouveauFashion, identity and representation at the turn of the century.
Explore →218 WORKSViennese secessionPainting, ornament and break with academic conventions.
Explore →746 WORKSArt Nouveau paintingAn extensive collection of lines, patterns and decorative surfaces.
Explore →Johanna Staude in 12 answers
Who was Johanna Staude?
Johanna Staude, born Widlicka in Vienna in 1883, was a language teacher, close to Viennese artistic circles and model of Gustav Klimt.
When did Klimt paint his portrait?
The painting is dated 1917 -1918, during the last months of Klimt's life.
Why is the portrait unfinished?
Klimt died on February 6, 1918 before having standardized all areas of the garment and perhaps further developed the bottom.
Is the mouth really unfinished?
It is often described this way, but recent research points out that Klimt intentionally left reservations in his late painting. The garment shows the interrupted steps more clearly.
What did Klimt say about the mouth?
An anecdote attributes to him the phrase "Because then you would never come back to my workshop". However, its documentary source has not been found: it is therefore not authenticated.
What is the "Blätter" pattern?
It is a leaf design created by Martha Alber for the Wiener Werkstätte and used for the fabric of the blouse worn by Johanna.
Does the Belvedere have the original blouse?
The museum has a blouse made from the same fabric and dating from the same period, but it is unclear if this is exactly the garment worn during the sessions.
Was Johanna Staude a wealthy sponsor?
No. She worked in particular as a language teacher. The portrait may have been painted in a friendly setting rather than as a worldly commission.
What connection did she have with Peter Altenberg?
She took care of her home in 1918 -1919 and thus evolved in the literary world of Viennese cafés.
What are the dimensions of the table?
The oil on canvas measures 70 cm high by 50 cm wide.
How did the painting enter Belvedere?
Johanna Staude sold it directly to the museum in 1963. The payment of 155,000 schillings was spread into monthly payments.
Where to see Johanna Staude today?
The portrait belongs to Belvedere in Vienna, inventory number 5551. Check the hanging on the museum website before your visit.
What can be verified
Biographical, textile, material and provenance information is mainly based on research from Belvedere and the Gustav Klimt Database.
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