Portrait of Sonja Knips

In the portrait of Sonja Knips completed in 1897 or 1898, a young Klimt sets his high artistic standards in portraiture for the first time. Particularly notable is the new style of painting demonstrated, with significant influences from the already famous American painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Among other things, it involves a soft, sfumato application of color reminiscent of pastels, making the contours appear slightly blurred. This technique is used to particularly good effect in the soft material of the silk dress.