A Woman in Gold - and then some

I love most Klimt paintings.
This is one of them.

I'd never heard the story behind it.  And Ms. O'Connor doesn't make any false claims, but does leave it up to the reader to figure out the relationship between Gustav Kilmt and his model, Adele Bloch-Bauer which resulted in this beautiful painting.

Ms. O'Connor goes much further than describing how the picture came about, how the Nazis eventually stole it from Jews in Vienna, how an American descendent of Adele eventually fought to have it returned to her.

I loved reading about history, true events, true people and their relationships in Vienna.  I finally understood a lot more than I had in the quick history presentations I'd had before.  Each segment of people's lives was given relationships with others, so the people seemed so realistic.  And the art itself was followed through these relationships, much better than a "provenance" of a painting.

I watched the movie "Woman in Gold" with Helen Mirren, about halfway through reading the book.  I was surprised how it differed from the book, and actually looked only at the historical relationships as flash-backs that were emotional images, and sometimes pure fiction.  But it was a good movie, looking at the legal battle to return the painting to it's rightful owner against the art world of Vienna when restitution was being proposed for Nazi plundering.  (Movie Trailer here.)

I'm planning to give the book as a Christmas present this year.  All my Christmas presents will be used books, which I'm picking up in wonderful used book stores.  Some of the better books I'm reading first.  And some I'm looking for because I've already read them and want to give them to friends and relatives.  I believe reading good physical books is important in our techno world, this is in my budget, especially for those who are tired of receiving my pottery.

I hope others will consider doing the same!

Today's quote:

Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity. Pema Chödrön