SuperRare

The fin de siècle Viennese Symbolist painter Gustav Klimt is know for using gold leaf, something he picked up on while visiting the famous Byzantine frescoes in Ravenna Italy. He most famously put the idea to use in his masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I—also know as Austria’s Mona Lisa—a painting looted by the Nazis during World War II. The story of its eventual return to its rightful owner served as the basis of the film, Woman In Gold, starring Helen Mirren. Another Klimt painting, The Kiss, is equally iconic.