Old Man on Deathbed

Klimt portrayed the dead more often than people expect, usually straight after the death, sometimes on the same day, and he rarely showed these pictures in public. Most of his dead sitters can be named. This old man cannot. It has been suggested that he is Hermann Flöge, father of Klimt's longtime companion Emilie Flöge and father-in-law of the painter's brother Ernst, but the Belvedere treats his identity as an open question. The head sinks into white bedding, the grey hair and beard done in fine, feathery strokes. The picture dates from around 1899 or 1900. The signature and the year 1900 in one corner were probably added by another hand, though the date fits the style. The canvas is small, about 30 by 45 centimetres, and was probably cut down, so what survives is only part of the original composition.