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Portrait of Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann as a print, in a room
What the painting shows
Portrait of Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann by Klimt presents a full-length portrait of a Viennese society woman standing in three-quarter view. Painted in oil on canvas in 1900, the work measures 140 by 80 centimeters. Klimt positions the sitter against a divided backdrop: vibrant, textured cobalt blue fills the left portion of the canvas, while deep black shadows rise along the right.
The sitter turns her head in profile to the left, showing a calm expression, dark hair gathered upward, and pale skin. She wears an off-the-shoulder black evening gown covered in small, shimmering flecks that scatter across the dark fabric like beads of light. A thick black fur stole wraps around her upper arms and the back of her neck, framing her exposed shoulders and throat.
Around her neck rests a wide white choker set with an ornamental centerpiece. A delicate earring catches the light at her earlobe, while fine gold bracelets encircle her right wrist. Her right arm extends downward, fingers resting lightly against a low, mottled reddish-burgundy surface in the lower left corner. Her left hand gathers the dark fabric near her waist. As with many works in Klimt’s portraits catalog, the contrast between smooth figurative painting and bold surface pattern defines the composition.
Who the sitter was
Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann was an Austrian mountaineer born on February 12, 1864, in Prävali. She belonged to the prominent Rosthorn entrepreneurial dynasty and was a second cousin of the physician Alfons von Rosthorn. In her youth, she took up mountain climbing in the Viennese local ranges, including the Rax and Schneeberg.
She soon accomplished major climbing milestones in the Alps. In 1881, she became the first woman to ascend the 1,800-meter-high Watzmann East Face. On July 22, 1888, she achieved another milestone as the first woman to climb the 3,652-meter Thurwieserspitze, climbing alongside mountain guide J. Pichler. Together with her second husband, she later scaled several four-thousand-meter peaks in the Western Alps.
Her first marriage was to Bruno Wagner von Freynsheim, a legal adviser for the Austrian State Railways who later became director of the Nordbahn. The couple had a daughter, Dora, born in 1885. In 1886, Rose married Austrian industrialist and mountaineer Louis Philipp Friedmann, with whom she had a daughter named Marie Alexandrine in 1887.
Rose and her husband were respected figures in Viennese cultural society, moving in circles that included playwrights and authors such as Arthur Schnitzler and Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Hofmannsthal admired her greatly, later writing a long letter to her widower that praised her expressive beauty, intelligence, and strength. During World War I, she served as a nurse in a military hospital in Vienna. She contracted lethal typhoid fever and died at age 54 on January 13, 1919, in Sanatorium Gutenbrunn in Baden bei Wien.
Where to see it
The original painting is in a private collection. Because it remains in private hands rather than a public gallery, the canvas is not on permanent museum display. You can compare it with other works recorded across every Klimt painting to see how Klimt approached formal portrait commissions at the turn of the century.
Choosing a print
Prints of this portrait are printed and shipped by ArtsyWall in three formats: Premium Canvas, Framed Canvas, and Archival Paper.
- Premium Canvas wraps the deep blue background and dark gown around solid wood stretcher bars. The textured canvas surface suits the varied brushstrokes of the background wall without needing glass.
- Framed Canvas adds a wood floating frame around the stretched canvas, available in black, white, gold, silver, walnut, and oak finishes. A black or walnut frame complements the dark evening gown, while a gold or silver frame highlights the jewelry and dress flecks.
- Archival Paper offers a flat matte finish on 100% cotton rag fine art paper. This format provides sharp clarity for the sitter’s facial profile, choker ornament, and delicate bracelets when you plan to use custom framing.
Details of Portrait of Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann
Questions about Portrait of Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann
What does Portrait of Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann by Klimt show?
Portrait of Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann by Klimt shows the Austrian mountaineer in three-quarter profile wearing a floor-length black evening dress speckled with light-catching flecks. A dark fur boa drapes across her bare shoulders, and a wide white choker accents her neck. Her right hand rests near a red textured surface, set against a rich background of deep cobalt blue and shadowy black.
Who was Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann?
Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann was an Austrian mountaineer born in Prävali in 1864 into the Rosthorn industrial dynasty. She became the first woman to climb the 1,800-meter Watzmann East Face in 1881 and Thurwieserspitze in 1888. A prominent figure in Viennese cultural circles alongside writers Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Arthur Schnitzler, she later served as a wartime nurse before dying of typhoid fever in 1919.
Who owns Portrait of Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann by Klimt?
Portrait of Rose von Rosthorn-Friedmann by Klimt is held in a private collection. Because the painting belongs to an individual owner rather than a public art museum, it is not on regular public view. The 1900 oil on canvas remains one of Gustav Klimt's celebrated society portraits, known largely through photographic reproductions and art historical publications.
