412 Menora S412 D2This work contains elements from the work “Adele Blocher-Bauer” completed in 1907

 Acrylic on canvas. Transponder.120×160 cm. Completed 2017.

Allegories

Menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum, one of the most important religious symbols of Judaism, appears in the background and gives this painting its name. This object symbolised the Zionists in the 19th century and is now part of the national coat of arms of Israel.

The acrylic painting (120x160cm) created by Bastian Oldhouse in 2017 is also a tribute to Gustav Klimt, who died almost 100 years earlier at the age of 55. In the foreground, the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, who gave the famous painting its name. Her dress suggests wealth. Adele was also the wife of the Viennese sugar magnate Ferdinand Bloch.

 
The most expensive painting in the world, purchased for a reported 150 million dollars, now hangs in the Neue Galerie in Manhattan, New York.
 
The Jewish origins of the Bauer and Bloch families inspired the painter Bastian Oldhouse to depict a series of metaphors relating to Judaism and Israel. The interpretation of the symbols depicted is left to the viewer.
 
Adele’s dress features patterns of transversely arranged, stylised eyes surrounded by large flat triangles and lenses, reminiscent of an all-seeing eye, a Masonic symbol.
  • The palace in which Adele stands lacks a roof to protect it from the (bad) weather.
  • In the centre of the picture, a Palestinian cypress rises from a dark sphere inside.
  • The first cracks can already be seen in the plinth masonry.
  • The flamingo enters the room. It symbolises virtue and determination.
  • A strong wind blows through the open window (we are three decades before the persecution of the Jews and 100 years before an unresolved “Palestine problem”).
  • A calla lily, a symbol of transformation and rebirth, pushes its way up the stone steps.
  • Water floods the room.
  • The left supporting column of an entrance arch (?) is missing.
  • The damaged archway threatens to collapse. It is still supported by a delicate spring. A spring can withstand a lot. If the pressure increases, it buckles.
  • Black pigeons make their presence felt. They fly away from the supporting feather against the
  • the backdrop of a hopeful ocean.
  • The red shoe is both a recognisable feature of the contemporary painter’s art and a symbol of the luxurious life of a spoilt diaspora.