Gustav Klimt's Work From The Est Marijuana Lauder Dilelang Painting, Tembus Rp2.5 Trillion

The Painting Est Totaling Lauder Dilelang (Photo: CNN)

JAKARTA - A monumental painting by Gustav Klimt once owned by the heir to Est total Lauder, Leonard A. Lauder will be auctioned off by Sothebys in the coming days with an estimated price of more than 150 million US dollars or IDR 2.5 trillion.

Reporting from the CNN page, the collection of paintings entitled Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer is a portrait of a young heir in Vienna that was seized by the Nazis and almost destroyed during World War II.

This portrait has rarely been seen for decades. This portrait depends on Lauder's home on Fifth Avenue, New York, until the last few years of his life before his death in June.

In addition to the painting Lederer, Lauder's collection which will be auctioned also includes two landscape works of Lake Atsee by Klimt, which are estimated to be worth more than US$70 million (Rp1.1 trillion) and US$80 million (Rp1.3 trillion), bringing the total collection to more than US$400 million or Rp6.6 trillion.

Made in 1916, two years before the death of Klimt, an portrait of Elisabeth featuring the young girl wearing a thin decorative-style robe with Chinese motifs. This portrait was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art and the New York Neue Gallery, and was loaned to the National Gallery of Canada in 2017.

Art historian Emily Braun, who has been Lauder's adviser for nearly four decades, calls this portrait a gem of Lauder's collection. Over the years, this painting has been displayed in Lauder's living room and dining room, near the usual lunch table.

The portrait of Elisabeth has a tragic history. This 20-year-old girl lost her family and had a lot of wealth before the war. She had claimed Klimt was her father to protect herself as a Jewish woman living in Vienna at a time of risk.

Even so, this portrait managed to survive Nazi booty and returned to the family ofLederer after the war before being finally purchased by Lauder in 1985. Klimt is known for its golden period, such as the works of The Kiss and Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I.

However, Elisabeth's portrait was made towards the end of Klimt's life, in a looser style and influenced by Eastern Asian art. Elisabeth's dragon coat symbolizes power, while the motives around her may be inspired by Klimt's personal collection.

In addition to historical and artistic values, this portrait was also named after Elisabeth's marriage status, even though when she was painted she was single. With Braun's suggestion, Lauder finally returned the original title, the Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer.

The upcoming auction of Sotheby's is expected to make this portrait one of the most expensive works of art ever sold in the world, as well as affirming collectors' interest in Klimt's work which is full of history and aesthetics.