KLIMT PRINTED

"[...] only in the constantly increasing integration of the whole of life with artistic intentions [is] the progress of culture founded. [...]", postulated Gustav Klimt during his opening speech on the occasion of the "Kunstschau Wien 1908". This primarily refers to the extensive and holistic oeuvre of the Klimt Group, which left the Vienna Secession in 1905, and other artists. Additionally, this period of reorientation also marked the beginning of the realization of the first Klimt portfolio entitled The Work of Gustav Klimt, published by the Kunstgalerie H. O. Miethke and with the artist himself playing a leading role. The aim was to promote Klimt en miniature through this exceptionally high-quality and therefore expensive printed portfolio and to create a "permeation with art". This was an initial impulse from Miethke, which was to be continued by the publisher Hugo Heller and the art historian Max Eisler. In addition to these reproductions of Klimt's most important paintings and friezes, there were also portfolios of outstanding drawings by the master, such as Gustav Klimt. Twenty-five hand drawings by the Gilhofer and Ranschburg publishing house from 1919. All these reproductions required high-quality and elaborate printing, which in the case of the portfolios after Klimt's paintings was carried out by the Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing Office.

The exhibition "KLIMT PRINTED" in the historic Casa della Musica in the center of the Italian city of Grado is dedicated to these limited and rare portfolios from August 11 to October 27, 2024. At the invitation of the curator, Roberto Festi, and the Consorzio Turismo Grado, the Klimt Foundation is also contributing some loans and provided an article for the exhibition catalog. Details on opening hours etc. can be found here.