This elegant woman’s pose and clothing identify her as modern and independent. We don’t know her name, but she may well have been a customer at the fashion salon owned by Emilie Flöge and her sisters. Flöge was muse and close companion to Gustav Klimt. 

The striking features of the woman in the picture, The Black Feathered Hat (1910), represent the artist's ideal. They are emphasized by her dark eyes, rouged cheeks and lips set off against her pale skin. The image recalls fashion photographs of the period—but filtered through Klimt’s personal sensibilities. For example, the oversized black hat this woman wears was chic at the time, but pale dresses were not. Klimt favored them, however, because they lent an aura of fragility and aloofness to his sitters. Here, a long fur stole complements the hat, while visually connecting the elements of the painting.

This work is often featured in “Austrian Masterworks from the Neue Galerie.”