On the left is 'Backfisch,' which only exists in a catalog, and on the right is 'Portrait of a Lady,' which can be seen at the My Art Museum.
Gustav Klimt's masterpiece, 'Portrait of a Lady,' is coming to the new center of K-Art, Gangnam, Seoul.
The My Art Museum in Teheran-ro, Seoul (Director Lee Tae-geun) will host the exhibition 'The Miracle of Klimt and Ricci Oddi' from the 19th to March 22nd of next year.
This exhibition is a large-scale exhibition that encompasses the entire flow of modern and contemporary art history from Impressionism to Modernism, based on approximately 70 works from the collection of the Ricci Oddi Gallery of Modern Art (Galleria d'Arte Moderna Ricci Oddi) in Piacenza, Italy.
In particular, this exhibition is drawing significant attention as it is the first time outside of Italy that Gustav Klimt's (Gustav Klimt, 1862-1918) 'Portrait of a Lady' will be publicly displayed after its dramatic rediscovery 23 years after its theft.
This exhibition, which embodies not only the value and artistic merit of the painting itself but also a narrative of theft and rediscovery, can be considered a Christmas gift for Seoul audiences.
The Double Portrait and the Mystery of the Stolen Painting
Klimt left behind numerous masterpieces during his lifetime, but no other work generated as much buzz as 'Portrait of a Lady.'
The incident began in 1910. Klimt submitted a work titled 'Portrait of a Young Woman' to the 9th Venice Biennale. The woman in the painting wore a large hat and a black scarf.
Later, this painting was recorded as being exhibited again in Dresden in 1912 under the name 'Backfisch' (meaning a young girl).
However, this girl with the large hat and scarf was not very popular at the time, and it was never sold. Klimt reacquired 'Backfisch' from an art dealer in 1916.
Klimt erased the girl's clothing and hat and painted over it with a woman in a floral dress. This is the 'Portrait of a Lady' that remains today.
Why did he paint over it instead of creating a new one? Canvases were valuable at the time, and Klimt, being a commercial artist, was ruthless with unsold works. Thus, 'Backfisch' disappeared. However, people mistakenly believed the painting was lost.
Klimt passed away in 1918. In an exhibition held in Vienna after his death (1919), Italian gallerist Luigi Scoppini purchased 'Portrait of a Lady' and brought it to Italy. In 1925, Giuseppe Ricci Oddi, a nobleman from Piacenza, purchased the work again.
In 1931, Ricci Oddi opened the art museum he had dreamed of his entire life, and at this time, he publicly displayed this painting for the first time alongside works by Italian masters he had collected throughout his life.
Then, much time passed, and in 1996. Claudia Maga (18), an art student in Piacenza, discovered that the work 'Backfisch' from Klimt's catalog and 'Portrait of a Lady,' a collection of the Ricci Oddi Museum, were morphologically identical. At the time, 'Backfisch' only existed in records and had not been seen by anyone since 1912.
At Maga's suspicion, X-ray analysis began, and 'Backfisch,' which had been under the overpainted layer, was finally revealed to the world. She was a student with remarkable observation skills.
Dolls were made based on Gustav Klimt's masterpieces 'Backfisch' (left) and 'Portrait of a Lady.' Reporter Lim Yo-hee. The story does not end here.
The following year, 1997. On the eve of a large special exhibition to commemorate the discovery of the 'Double Portrait,' the painting mysteriously disappeared amidst preparations for its transport.
Four days later, an empty frame with fishing line was found on the museum's skylight, but this was determined to be a deliberate 'false clue' left by the perpetrator to mislead the investigation.
And 23 years after the incident, in 2004, a gardener tidying the ivy on the museum's exterior wall discovered a small door hidden in a corner of the garden.
Inside, there was a small space (alcove) with a black plastic bag placed within it. Surprisingly, inside the bag, which was thought to be trash, was 'Portrait of a Lady,' which the museum had been searching for so long.
Another puzzle is that the bag that wrapped the painting was a product that was not manufactured at the time of the theft. The condition of the artwork was also remarkably clean, making it difficult to believe it had been left exposed in a hole in the exterior wall for an extended period. This implies that the painting had been stored elsewhere all along and was intentionally placed there just before its discovery.
Visitors appreciating the painting. Reporter Lim Yo-hee.
Lee Tae-geun, Director of My Art Museum. Reporter Lim Yo-hee.
Congratulatory address from the Mayor of Piacenza, Italy. Reporter Lim Yo-hee.
A cup from Cafe Trestelle featuring 'Portrait of a Lady.' The cafe is located within My Art Museum. Reporter Lim Yo-hee.
◆ About Ricci Oddi Gallery of Modern Art
The Ricci Oddi Gallery of Modern Art (Galleria d'Arte Moderna Ricci Oddi) is a modern art museum located in the city of Piacenza, Italy. It was founded based on the personal collection of Giuseppe Ricci Oddi (1868-1937), a jurist and art patron from Piacenza.
He began seriously collecting works in 1897, and in 1924, he decided to build a dedicated museum for his collection and requested a site donation from the city. Of course, he promised to donate all his collected works and hand over the museum to the city. And that promise was kept.
The current museum was completed through the renovation of an old monastery building, designed by architect Giulio Ulisse Arata. The museum currently houses approximately 700 paintings and sculptures, primarily by Italian artists from the 1830s to the early 1930s.
The collection spans regions and periods, reflecting trends such as Northern Italian Impressionism, Scapigliatura (an art movement that opposed academicism), Symbolism, and Macchiaioli (painting using spots of color).
The exhibition space consists of 19 rooms, blending a ceiling structure that utilizes natural light with the elegant atmosphere of a historic building.
This museum is more than just a private collection; it was donated to the city of Piacenza upon its opening and has operated as a public art museum, serving as a hub for educational and cultural activities for the local community.
A representative piece in its collection is Gustav Klimt's 'Portrait of a Lady,' which was stolen in 1997 and dramatically recovered in 2019. In addition, the museum holds numerous works by artists who represent Italian art history.
◆ About My Art Museum
Established in 2019, My Art Museum primarily collaborates with leading museums in Europe and the United States to showcase meticulously curated special exhibitions of modern and contemporary masterpieces representing Western art history of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Since its opening in October 2019, it has hosted 14 blockbuster exhibitions, attracting a cumulative total of 1.2 million visitors and achieving a Google rating of 4.5, making it a beloved private exhibition space representing Korea.
Reporter Lim Yo-hee
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