title: Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881-1925): Possible diagnoses for Gustav Klimt's Lady in Gold.
abstract: One of the most famous works by the Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt and one of the most widely reproduced works of art worldwide, Adele Bloch-Bauer I which portrays the beautiful wife of Austrian magnate Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. Adele was the only woman painted by Klimt on more than one occasion. Apart from the beauty and value of the painting, the daring sea of gold that surrounds Adele and the gentle intimacy with which her fragile figure is portrayed have shrouded the history of this painting in mystery. Beyond speculation as to a special bond between artist and model, observation of the painting with a keener, clinical gaze yields evidence of potential illness in the model: facial erythema which, if not produced artificially by makeup, could represent a malar rash; pallor or cyanosis of the hands; and her draped fingers, which seemingly attempt to hide a deformity. This paper seeks to provide a biographical review both of the painter, Gustav Klimt, and of the subject, Adele Bloch-Bauer; to analyse Klimt's two portrayals of her in a search for evidence of a potential intimate relationship between artist and muse and, finally, to compile clinical evidence of possible diagnoses for the Lady in Gold.
authors.affiliation: Universidade de Brasilia School of Medicine, Brazil liciamhmota@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Licia Maria H
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: da Mota
authors.affiliation: Hospital Psiquiátrico São Pedro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Neubarth
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Centro Médico Aliança, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jozélio F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Corpo Clínica de Fisioterapia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leonardo R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Diniz
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology, Instituto de Cardiologia do Distrito Federal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Aires
authors.affiliation: Universidade de Brasília School of Medicine, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leopoldo L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Dos Santos-Neto
mesh_terms: D001317:Austria; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000266:history; D005197:Famous Persons; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000266:history*; D010151:Paintings / Q000266:history*; D012213:Rheumatic Fever / Q000266:history*; D013587:Syphilis / Q000266:history*
keywords: Adele Bloch-Bauer; Gustav Klimt; Lady in Gold; Medicine; art; diagnosis