Wilhelm List

Unexamined out of frame and under glass, the canvas has been re-lined. There are no signs of retouching visible under ultraviolet light, and apart from scattered craquelure and a few very minor flecks of paint loss to the figure's sleeve, this work is in good condition, with delicate colours and tones. Held in a decorative, gold-painted moulded plaster and wood frame, under glass.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The vibrant polychrome motifs behind List's sitter, her heavily styled and stylised coiffure and the elaborately ornamental garments and accessories she wears, embody the Jugendstil Gesamtkunstwerk aesthetic of decoration of one's person and environment. Her elegant, fine features, milky skin and flaxen hair, set her within her decadent surroundings in a similar manner to the elegant ingénues of Botticelli more than four hundred years before (fig. 1). List's sitter holds her hands in a devotional manner, injecting a sense of spirituality into the representation, while continuing references to early portraiture.

List was, along with Gustav Klimt, one of the founding members of the Vienna Secession, and is above all celebrated for his graphic contributions to the Secession journal Ver Sacrum, and for the catalogue he created for the 14^th Secession exhibition in 1892, dedicated to Beethoven.