What the painting shows

Seated Young Girl by Klimt depicts a young girl sitting upright in an upholstered armchair against a flat dark red background. She looks directly forward at you with large dark eyes and a calm expression. Her light brown hair is pulled back from her forehead and tied with a small white ribbon.

She wears a high-necked white blouse with puffed shoulders and a ruffled lace front. The fabric gathers tightly at the collar and falls in soft folds across her torso. Below her waist, a white skirt extends across the bottom of the frame, where her hands rest quietly in her lap. The dark red armchair has an ornate carved armrest capped with a dark animal head. In the upper right corner, Klimt painted his signature in capital letters against the crimson wall. The deep red backdrop behind the sitter has no decorative ornament, focusing your attention on the figure. Light falls softly on her face and the crisp folds of her white clothing.

The story behind it

Klimt completed this painting in 1894, making it one of his notable early works. It is also known by the German title Sitzendes junges Mädchen. The work stands out among his portraits for its small dimensions, measuring just 14 centimeters high by 9.6 centimeters wide. Despite the tiny scale, the picture demonstrates his precise handling of fabric textures, facial features, and quiet posture.

Where to see it

You can see Seated Young Girl at the Leopold Museum in Vienna. The painting belongs to the museum’s permanent collection in the Austrian capital.