Portrait of Baroness Elisabeth Bachofen-Echt by Gustav Klimt

Portrait of Baroness Elisabeth Bachofen-Echt - Gustav Klimt - Oil Painting Wall Decor

Product Overview

Portrait of Baroness Elisabeth Bachofen-Echt - Gustav Klimt - Oil Painting Wall Decor suits both traditional and modern interiors. As a portrait oil painting, it works as a standalone focal point or as part of a hallway gallery wall, and unlike a print it is genuinely hand painted in oils.

Composition & Subject

1914-1916
Oil on canvas
71 by 51 3/8 in. (180.4 by 130.5 cm. )
Private collection.

This portrait of Elisabeth Lederer—later known as Baroness Elisabeth Bachofen-Echt—is one of Gustav Klimt’s most dazzling and complex works. Painted between 1914 and 1916, it captures the elegance, confidence, and symbolic richness of Vienna’s high society just before its collapse. The painting’s vibrant colors, intricate ornamentation, and imposing scale reflect Klimt’s mastery of visual storytelling and his deep connection to the Lederer family, who were among his most important patrons.

Elisabeth, just twenty years old at the time, is portrayed with calm self-assurance. Her robe, decorated with light blue dragons rising from crested waves, evokes imperial iconography—an unusual choice for Klimt, and one that underscores the immense status of the Lederer family. The portrait is filled with subtle symbols, hinting at both personal identity and cultural power.

Klimt worked obsessively on the painting for years. According to legend, it was only completed when Elisabeth’s mother, Szerena Lederer, took it from his studio herself. The Lederers allowed it to leave their collection only once, for the Austrian Art Exhibition in Stockholm in 1917.

But the story behind the canvas is as compelling as the painting itself. Elisabeth was the only daughter of August and Szerena Lederer, one of the wealthiest Jewish families in Vienna. Their fortune, built on distillery and starch production, supported a vast art collection and decades of patronage. Klimt painted portraits of Elisabeth, her mother, her grandmother Charlotte Pulitzer, and even a posthumous portrait of Szerena’s niece.

After her father’s death in 1936 and the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938, the Lederer family’s world unraveled. Their collection was looted—except for the family portraits, which were deemed “too Jewish” to be of value. Elisabeth remained in Vienna, despite the danger. She had converted to Protestantism upon marrying Wolfgang von Bachofen-Echt in 1921, but after their divorce in 1934, she was again classified as Jewish.

By 1939, Elisabeth was alone: divorced, grieving the loss of her only child, and separated from her mother, who had fled to Budapest. Facing persecution, she circulated the story that Klimt—non-Jewish and long deceased—was her biological father. Her mother signed an affidavit to support the claim. Remarkably, the Nazis accepted it, and with help from a former brother-in-law who held a high-ranking position, Elisabeth was allowed to remain in Vienna until her death in 1944.

The contrast between the painting’s luminous optimism and the tragic fate of its subject is striking. While Portrait of Baroness Elisabeth Bachofen-Echt radiates life and grandeur, it also serves as a quiet memorial to a woman caught in the storm of history.

Klimt’s work has often been seen as detached from the political upheavals of his time. Yet, as art historian Emily Braun notes, his embrace of cosmopolitanism and his use of Asian motifs reflect a broader worldview—one that still resonates today. The painting invites us not only to admire its beauty but also to reflect on the fragility of the world it came from.

Every hand painted oil painting in this figurative series is finished on artist-grade canvas and checked against the original before it leaves the studio.

Materials & Craftsmanship

Materials matter for art nouveau wall decor. That is why this piece is built on artist-grade canvas with lightfast oil colors, applied by hand rather than output from a printer, and sealed for long-term display.

Product Details

• Every figurative canvas is hand painted in oils; no mechanical or digital reproduction at any stage.
• Edges include an additional 2-inch blank allowance, ideal for gallery wrapping or framing.
• We dispatch worldwide ourselves, so there are no middlemen in the chain.
• Quick turnaround — most in-stock figurative paintings ship in 3–10 working days.
• Available canvas sizes for this hand painted oil painting: 20 X 24 in, 24 X 36 in, 30 X 40 in, 36 X 48 in, 48 X 72 in.
• Any size you need can be produced — just tell us your preferred dimensions.
• Choose from DHL, UPS, FedEx, USPS and other competitively priced carriers.
• No-cost gallery stretching on wood bars, plus optional made-to-order framing.
• A digital photo of your finished painting is emailed for approval before shipment.

Where to Hang It

Style it over a fireplace, behind a reading chair, or along a staircase. Wherever it goes, this art nouveau oil painting wall decor adds the layered color that only a hand painted canvas provides.

Shipping & Guarantee

Browse our Gustav Klimt Paintings selection for related figurative canvases, or commission this figurative image in a custom size. Every order is a hand painted oil painting, never a printed poster.