Portrait of Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona

This is a recently rediscovered painting of an African prince by Gustav Klimt. The early, near-photorealistic head-and-shoulders portrait depicts Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona against a backdrop of symbolic floral motifs. The depicted man was part of a group of Africans from the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana) who were exhibited in late-19th-century European horrid colonial “human zoos.” In the summer of 1896, they appeared in a simulated African village at Vienna’s Zoological Garden, where Klimt likely encountered them. 

 

Created the same year that Klimt co-founded the Vienna Secession movement, the portrait signals the beginning of a new stage in the artist’s style. The symbolic floral background introduces a stylistic element that Klimt would consistently develop in his later work.

 

This masterpiece is featured in our Weekly Desk Calendar, where new artwork accompanies you each week. It's already sold out, but you can still grab the last copies of the Monthly Wall Calendar at 40% off.  :) 

 

P.S. Learn the fascinating story behind this discovery! If you're surprised that this painting was created by the master of Secession, here are Gustav Klimt's portraits you'd never guess were his!