The Painted Kiss by Elizabeth Hickey

Event Type Book Discussions, Adults, Free Programs
Date calendar  Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Time clock  1:30pm - 2:30pm (1h)
Location Isabel Hall
Details

Part 1: Art History Presentation
February 5  • 1:30p    

Part 2: Book Discussion
February 19 • 1:30p 

Gustav Klimt, one of the great painters of fin de siècle Austria—and the subject of the film Woman in Gold—takes center stage in this passionate and atmospheric debut novel, which reimagines the tumultuous relationship between the Viennese painter and Emilie Flöge, the woman who posed for his masterpiece The Kiss, and whose name he uttered with his dying breath.

Vienna in 1886 was a city of elegant cafés, grand opera houses, and a thriving and adventurous artistic community. It is here where the 12-year-old Emilie meets the controversial libertine and painter. Hired by her bourgeois father for basic drawing lessons, Klimt introduces Emilie to a subculture of dissolute artists, wanton models, and decadent patrons that both terrifies and inspires her. The Painted Kiss follows Emilie as she blossoms from a naïve young girl to one of Europe’s most exclusive couturiers—and Klimt’s most beloved model and mistress. 

Books are available in the Museum Shop.