Stoclet House

“I knew right from the start that the whole thing would be damned expensive” – Gustav Klimt’s Cartoons for the Stoclet Frieze: Their Creation, Execution, and Conservation, Part II

Gustav Klimt's cartoons for the Stoclet Frieze, created between 1910 and 1911, underwent a significant 'de-restoration' process to reverse earlier invasive treatments. These full-scale, 1:1 cartoons on paper, which served as templates for the mosaic frieze in the Stoclet House's dining room, were consolidated and mounted on acid-free honeycomb cardboard panels. This innovative approach allows the cartoons to be displayed side by side without interruption, forming an uninterrupted eleven-meter-long frieze within a climate-stabilized glass display case. Klimt's detailed instructions for material use and color shades, written directly onto the cartoons, played a crucial role in this conservation effort.