Documentary on Arte Explores Rediscovered Klimt Portrait of Ghanaian Prince

A documentary titled 'Gustav Klimt and the Enigma of the Ghanaian Prince' premiered on Arte on April 8, 2026, investigating a long-lost painting by Gustav Klimt. The artwork, a portrait of a young Black man painted in 1897, resurfaced in 2023 after being considered missing for decades. Art historian Alfred Weidinger identified the piece, which had been tracked for nearly 20 years, following its submission to a Viennese gallery by a couple. The film traces the portrait's provenance, including its creation during a transitional period for Klimt, shortly after his brother Ernst's death, and its status as the only known depiction of a Black individual in Klimt's oeuvre. Research led to the identification of the sitter as Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona, a member of the Ga people from Ghana who was in Vienna in the late 19th century. The documentary contextualizes the portrait within colonial-era exhibitions and Europe's ambiguous fascination with non-Western cultures, raising questions about representation. Additionally, it details the painting's history of Nazi-era looting from the Klein family, a Jewish collection in Vienna in 1938, its concealment in Hungary during World War II, and its reappearance at Tefaf Maastricht in 2025. The film, directed by Judith Doppler and Rudolf Klingohr, explores ongoing debates about ownership and rightful conservation, highlighting the artwork's financial and symbolic significance. It remains available on arte.tv from April 7 to July 6, 2026.