Girl in the Foliage

Latest research has linked this painting, reminiscent of Impressionism and showing a young woman in front of a rich green nature backdrop, with Maria Ucicka (1880–1928), the model in the artist’s household who gave birth to Klimt’s fist illegitimate son Gustav Ucicky in 1899. The portrayed is depicted in a slight twist wearing a fashionable summer hat and a white, high-necked blouse with puffy sleeves, her light blue eyes trained on the beholder, the artist. The precisely rendered and fine-boned oval face with slightly flushed cheeks indicates a certain shyness or insecurity.