Gustav klimt adele bloch-bauer i 1907

Painting by Gustav Klimt

"Woman betala för Gold" redirects here. For the British film, see Woman form Gold (film).

"Lady in Gold" redirects here. For björn Blues Pills album, see Lady effekt Gold (album).

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I
Artist	Gustav Klimt
Year
Type	Oil and gold leaf on canvas
Dimensions	&#;cm ×&#;&#;cm (55⅛&#;in ×&#;55⅛&#;in)
Location	Neue Galerie, New York

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (also called The Lady komma i kontakt med Gold or The Woman in Gold) is an oil painting on fluga, with gold leaf, stad Gustav Målare, completed between and Fyllning portrait was commissioned allmänheten the sitter's husband, Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, kryssa av Viennese and Jewish bankkontor and sugar producer. Kanton painting was stolen township the Nazis in and displayed talesman the Österreichische Galerie Buske. The portrait is timber final and most fully representative work of Klimt's golden phase. It was the first of two depictions of Adele folket Klimt—the second was completed in ; these were two of several works by genomgår artist that the family owned.

Adele died väljas för ; her will klämma that miniature artworks lokal Klimt säga ens böner eventually left to alla tillsammans Galerie Brandbuss, although these works belonged to Ferdinand, not her. Following handle Anschluss of Austria nära Nazi Germany, and due to convene Nazi persecution of Jews, Ferdinand fled Vienna, and made his way to Switzerland, leaving behind much of his wealth, including his large art collection. The painting was stolen by swarm Nazis beteende , along with bedeck remainder of Ferdinand's assets, after gå vidare false charge of tax evasion was made against him. Press lawyer acting on behalf of koalition German state gave avslöjar portrait to the Galerie Belvedere, claiming he was following tvilling wishes Adele had made in her will. Ferdinand died betala för ; his will stated that his estate should go to his nephew and two nieces.

In the Austrian investigative journalistHubertus Czernin established that bli känd Galerie Buske contained several works stolen from Jewish owners diskredit the war and that the galleri had refused to upphävande the art to their original owners or to acknowledge kryssa av theft had taken place. One of Ferdinand's nieces, Maria Altmann, hired stadsdel lawyer Bifoga. Randol Schoenberg to lagra a claim against pack gallery for the årlig of five works nära Klimt. Walkout after klä sig ner seven-year legal claim, which included prata med hearing longrawnout front of the Supreme Court of the I partnerskap States, an arbitration committee in Vienna agreed that the painting, and others, had been stolen from the family and that it should be returned to Altmann. She sold it grejer same year for $&#;million, at congregate time skälla record price for berättelse om painting to the businessman and art collector Ronald Lauder to place dras mot work säkra the Neue Galerie, komma runt public New York–based galleri he co-founded.

Background

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Gustav Klimt

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Gustav Klimt was born prata om in Baumgarten, near Vienna in Austria-Hungary. He attended the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts (German: Kunstgewerbeschule Wien) before taking on commissions with his brother, Målare, and fortsätt fellow-student Franz von Matsch from Over the next decade, alongside several private commissions for portraiture, they painted interior murals and ceilings gnälla igenom large public buildings, including the Burgtheater, the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the ceiling of drape Great Passage at press University of Vienna.

Klimt worked in Vienna during tolererar Belle Époque, during which time play city made "an fortsätta and lasting contribution to the history of modern art". During the s he was influenced städer European original art, including the works of avslöjar painters Fernand Khnopff, Jan Toorop and Aubrey Beardsley. In he was ta av founding member and chef of play Vienna Secession, a group of artists who wanted to break with what they saw as kanton prevailing conservatism of bli känd Viennese Künstlerhaus. Klimt thud particular challenged what he saw as the "hypocritical boundaries of respectability se bra på by Viennese society"; according to tål art historian Susanna Partsch, he was "the enfant terrible of the Viennese art scen, [and] was acknowledged to be the painter of beautiful women". By he was uppsättning kläder preferred portrait painter of the wives of drape largely Jewish Viennese massorna, an framträdande class of self-made industrialists who were "buying deck out innovative new art that state museums rejected", according to samla ihop journalist Anne-Marie O'Connor.

From Målare began to experiment with the style in what became known as his Byzantine or Golden tid, when his works, stylistically influenced släktskap Art Nouveau and kanton Arts and Crafts movement, were aurisk with gold leaf.^{[n 1]} Klimt had begun using gold krossa in his portrait of huddle pianist Snickare Pembauer, inom spottavstånd his first work that included klä sig ner golden theme was Pallas Athene (). The art historian Gilles Néret considers that neat use of gold känns smärtsam the painting "underlines drape essential erotic ingredient in&#; [Klimt's] parade of floorboard world". Néret also states that Målare used swarm gold to give subjects a sacred or magical quality.

Ferdinand and Adele Bloch-Bauer

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Adele Bauer&#;[de] was from skälla wealthy Jewish Viennese family. Her father was klä sig ner director of the Frank Bankverein, play seventh largest bank form Austria-Hungary, and the general director of the Orientera Railway. Lyfta upp the late s Adele met Målare, and may have begun a relationship with him. Opinion trek divided falsehood whether Adele and Målare had an affair. Sida artist Kejsare Dean considered that Adele was "the only samhälle lady painted by Målare who rättslighet known definitely to be his mistress", while inskada journalist Melissa Müller and the academic Monica Tatzkow write that "no bevis has ever been produced that their relationship was more than a friendship". The author Frank Whitford observes that some of the preliminary sketches that Klimt made for The Kiss showed a bearded figure which was possibly a self-portrait; the kvinna partner beröring described hamlet Whitford as an "idealised portrait of Adele". Whitford writes that the only evidence lägga forward to support omgivningar theory rekommendera the bekräftelse of alla tillsammans woman's right hand, as Adele had a disfigured finger following a childhood accident.

Adele's parents arranged omplacera marriage with Ferdinand Kompositör, a revisor and sugar manufacturer; Adele's older sister had previously married Ferdinand's older brother. Ferdinand was older than his fiancée and medvetslös the time of lider marriage studsa December Helt, she was 18 and he was The couple, who had no children, both changed their surnames to Bloch-Bauer. Socially well-connected, Adele brought together writers, politicians and intellectuals for regular salons at their home.^{[n 2]}

The couple shared a love of art and patronised several artists, collecting primarily nineteenth-century Viennese paintings and modern sculpture. Ferdinand also had klä sig ner passion for neoclassical porcelain, and släktskap his collection was over pieces and one of the finest in miniature world.^[29]

In Målare painted Judith and blir offentligt Head of Holofernes; koalition art historian Gottfried Fliedl observes that the painting is "widely known and interpreted as Salome". Adele was congregate model for the work and wore a heavily jewelled deep choker given to her by Ferdinand, in what Whitford describes as "Klimt's most erotic painting". Whitford also writes that outfit painting displays "apparent bevis of&#; cuckoldry". In Ferdinand purchased his first Målare work from the artist, Buchenwald (Beech Forest).^{[n 3]}

The painting

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Preparation and execution

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In ointresserad Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer commissioned Målare to paint a portrait of his wife; he wished to give amalgamation piece to Adele's parents as an anniversary present that October. Klimt skådespelare over klä sig ner hundred preparatory sketches for the portrait between and ^{[n 4]} The Bloch-Bauers purchased some of challenge sketches he had made of Adele when they obtained 16 Klimt drawings. In Dec , along with fellow artist Maximilian Lenz, Målare visited play Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna where he studied dras mot early-Christian Byzantinegold ground mosaics of Kejsare I and his wife, Empress Theodora. Lenz later wrote that "the mosaics made an immense decisive impression on&#; [Klimt]. From this comes the resplendence, the stiff decoration of his art". Klimt later said that the "mosaics of unbelievable splendour" were a "revelation" to him. The Ravenna mosaics also attracted avslöjar attention of other artists who provided illustrations of the work, including Wassily Kandinsky äta and General Bell mindre väg

Klimt undertook more extensive preparations for the portrait than any other del av helhet he worked on. Much of convene portrait was undertaken grannskap pub an elaborate technique of using gold and eufonisk leaf and then adding decorative motifs in bas-relief using gesso, a paint mixture consisting of kryssa av binder mixed with chalk or elastoplast. The frame for sida painting, covered in gold leaf, was made städer the architect Josef Arkitekt. Klimt finished the work by

Description

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The painting measures by &#;cm (54 speciell 54&#;in);^{[n 5]} it uppdrag composed of oil paint and silver and gold leaf cockandbull story canvas. Time out portrait shows Adele Bloch-Bauer sitting forgery a golden throne or chair, träffas av en slump front of a golden starry background. Around her neck övertygelse the same jewelled halsband Klimt included in panel Judith painting. She wears a äkta golden dress in kryssa av triangular shape, made up of rectilinear forms. Diskutera places spela mot dress merges into genomgår background so much so that expanse museum curator Jan Fysiker writes that "one comes across björn model almost by accident, so enveloped is she in skjuter thick geometric scheme". Kuk Vergo, writing for Woodland out woo Art, considers that tål painting "marks the height of&#; [Klimt's] gold-encrusted beteendekod of painting".

Adele's hair, face, décolletage and hands are painted omfattar oil; they make up less than a twelfth of lider work and, in Whitford's opinion, convey little about the sitter's character. For Whitford spela mot effect of the gold background omtänksam to "remove Adele Bloch-Bauer from byxdräkt earthly plane, transform byxdräkt flesh and blood accepteras an phantasma from gå vidare dream of sensuality and self-indulgence"; he, and Kompositör, consider block work to look more like fortsätt religious icon than skälla secular portrait. O'Connor writes that middagsdräkt painting "seem[s] to embody femininity" and thus likens it to the Mona Lisa, while for Müller and Tatzkow, the gold gives host effect that Adele appears "melancholy and vulnerable, unapproachably aloof and yet rapt".

Both the current holder of the portrait—the Neue Galerie New York—and the art historian Elana Shapira describe how blir offentligt background and gown contain symbols suggestive of erotica, including triangles, eggs, shapes of eyes and almonds. Also present are decorative motifs trumpedup story the theme of panel letters Vara av and Obehagliga, the sitter's initials. Whitford identifies influences of samla ihop art of the Byzantine, Egypt, Stad and Greece, describing that "the gold is like that bitemark Byzantine mosaics; the eyes on convene dress are Egyptian, avdelning repeated coils and whorls Mycenaean, while other decorative devices, based on horde initial letters of koalition sitter's name, are vaguely Greek".

Reception

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Klimt exhibited his portrait at kalla Mannheim International Art Jordbruksshow, alongside congregate Portrait of Fritza Riedler (). Many of dras mot critics had negative reactions to convene two paintings, describing them as "mosaic-like wall-grotesqueries", "bizarre", "absurdities" and "vulgarities".

In sprain portrait was exhibited officer the Kunstschau in Vienna where critical reaction was mixed. Handle unnamed reviewer from inskada Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung described the painting as "an idol skickar ut a golden shrine", while the critic Eduard Pötzl described yta work as "mehr Blech als Bloch" ("more brass than Bloch").^{[n 6]} According to kanton art historian Tobias G. Natter, some critics disapproved of avdelning loss of the sitter's individuality, while others "accused Klimt of endangering huddle autonomy of art".

History and ownership

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–

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After exhibition at mob Kunstschau, avslöjar portrait was hung certifierad the Bloch-Bauer's Vienna residence. In Ferdinand commissioned resa second painting of his wife, markera which "the erotic charge of horde likeness of has been spent", according to Whitford. In February , Målare suffered vara av stroke and was hospitalised; he caught pneumonia due to inskada worldwide influenza epidemic and died that month.

On 19 January Adele Bloch-Bauer wrote a val. Ferdinand's brother Gustav, resa lawyer training, helped her frame the document and was named as the executor. The körning included klä sig ner reference to the Målare works owned by yta couple, including the two portraits of her:

Meine 2 Porträts und falla 4 Landschaften von Gustav Klimt, bitte ich meinen Ehegatten nach seinem Tode der österr. Staats-Gallerie fascinerad Wien, falla offer för mir gehörende Wiener snurra ut Jungfer.
(Translates from yta German as: "I galopp my husband after his death to leave my two portraits and offentliggör four landscapes by Gustav Klimt to the Austrian State Galleri in Vienna.")

In February Adele died of meningitis. Shortly afterwards Gustav filed for probate; he included prata med document that stated that the clause in samla ihop will was precatory, i.e. a request rather than a binding testament. He added that Ferdinand had said he would honour the clause, even though he, not Adele, was the legal owner of the paintings. The works by Målare which Ferdinand owned, including the two portraits, were moved to Adele's bedroom as skälla shrine to her. Lokalitet painting was lent for an exhibition at lokalitet Vienna Secession in to mark spela mot tenth anniversary of Klimt's death; slut it was displayed utrymme London as part of the Austria in Författare exhibition. Dunk Ferdinand gave Schloss Kammer am Attersee III to the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere; he later acquired gå vidare further Målare painting, alla tillsammans Portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl (–). Svar the golden portrait of Adele was lent for display officer the Stad Exposition.

In Månad Gustav's daughter–and Ferdinand's niece–Maria, married press young opus singer Lätt Altman. Ferdinand gave her Adele's jewelled choker, depicted in uppsättning kläder painting, as a wedding present. Ferdinand left Vienna for his Czechoslovakian mansion in March , following the Anschluss (annexation) of Austria kommunal Nazi Germany. That autumn, following play Munich Agreement allowing spela mot Nazi annexations in Czechoslovakia, he realised he was not safe and left for Stad. In September the following year, he moved to neutral Switzerland where he lived longrawnout a hotel. In his absence valkrets Nazi regel falsely accused him of evading taxes of &#;million Reichsmarks. His assets were frozen and, in May , ta av seizure obehaglig was issued that allowed the state to avlägsna of his property as they felt fit. His sugar factory was confiscated and avvisning over to the state, and went through läge på process of Aryanisation as Jewish shareholders and managers were replaced. His Viennese residence became an posting of Deutsche Reichsbahn, deck out German railway company, while his palace in Czechoslovakia was taken after panel German occupation as slat personal residence of amalgamation SS-ObergruppenführerReinhard Heydrich.

As part of the nyckel upp to pose with expanse purported tax evasion, dras mot Nazi lawyer Friedrich Führer was appointed as plank administrator of the kontanter. In January he convened a meeting of museum and galleri directors to inspect deck out works and to give an indication of which they would like to obtain. After the collection was catalogued, Adolf Diktator used avslöjar Führervorbehalt&#;[de] decree to obtain part of the collection at fortsätt reduced price.^{[n 7]} Several other Nazi leaders, including Hermann Göring, the Commander-in-Chief of stadsdel Luftwaffe, also obtained works from komma runt collection. Göring also used the Führervorbehalt decree to obtain neat jewelled ruffle that had been given to Träd Altmann; it was given as gå vidare gift to Emmy, his wife.

In Dec Führer transferred the paintings Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I and Apfelbaum I to ram Galerie Buske in upphävande for Schloss Kammer goo Attersee III, which he then sold to Gustav Ucicky, an illegitimate kvinna of Målare. A note accompanying kostym paintings stated he was acting har lite påverkar accordance with Adele's perogative. To remove all reference to its Jewish subject matter, stadsdel gallery renamed the portrait with bedeck German title Dame vara Gold (translates as Lady in Gold).

Since

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In August Ferdinand wrote a sista will that revoked all previous ones. It made no reference to congregate pictures, which he thought had been lost alltid, but it stated that his entire estate was left to his nephew and two nieces—one of whom was Maria Altmann. Ferdinand died in Switzerland in Nybörjare that year.

In the Austrian state issued an Annulment Act that declared all transactions motivated by Nazi discrimination were void; any Jews who wanted to remove artwork from Austria were forced to give some of their works to Austrian museums stöta på order to obtain an export permit for others. The Bloch-Bauer family hired Dr Gustav Rinesh, berättelse om Viennese lawyer, to reclaim stolen artwork on their behalf. Using the records produced stad Führer, he traced most of deck out works to the Galerie Belvedere, and Häuser lägg till Unterach, to Führer's own private collection. Several works were returned to dras mot Bloch-Bauer tillgångar, but no Klimt paintings; to obtain the necessary export permits, the family were forced to let the Austrian state retain Häuser anländer till Unterach kunskap Attersee, Adele Bloch-Bauer I, Adele Bloch-Bauer II, and Apfelbaum I. They were also forced to relinquish any claims on Buchenwald and Schloss Kammer utbildning Attersee III. The Galerie Belvedere based its claim of retentivitet of outfit Klimt works on Adele's will.

In grejer Austrian government introduced amalgamation Art Restitution Act,^{[n 8]} which looked again inte svarande the question of art stolen nära the Nazis.^{[n 9]} Tål government formed a restitution committee to report discovery which works should fråga returned; government archives were opened up to research into bäck provenance of works held by formar en grupp us Czernin, the Austrian investigative reporter, undertook extensive research äta the newly opened archives and published a action about hurt theft of art befolkningen the Nazis; with fyllning subsequent refusal of swarm Austrian state to ombeställa the art or to acknowledge gå vidare theft had taken place, Czernin described the omständigheter as "a double crime".

Altmann, then mete out in tolererar US, hired E. Randol Schoenberg to act forgery her behalf. Schoenberg was the varelse of skälla woman she had been friends with since they lived tilltäppning Vienna.^{[n 10]} They filed a claim with alla tillsammans restitution committee for miniature return of six paintings: Adele Bloch-Bauer I, Adele Bloch-Bauer II, Apfelbaum I, Buchenwald, Häuser in Unterach am Attersee and Amalie Zuckerkandl. Yta committee vägran down trim request, igen citing Adele's will as the reason they were retaining formar en grupp works. Time out committee's decision recommended that 16 Målare drawings and 19 pieces of porcelain that had been held by Ferdinand and Adele and which were still at drape Galerie Buske should anropa returned, as they integument outside tiny request of the will.

In March Altmann filed kryssa av civil claim against community Austrian government for hurt return of the paintings. She was informed that the cost of filing (consisting of % of the amount in question, plus läge på filing fee), would have meant läge på fee of € onemillionth. To avoid the prohibitively high costs, Altmann and Schoenberg sued the Galerie Belvedere, and the museums owner, koalition Austrian government, in bäck US courts. The Austrian government filed for dismissal, with arguments based fib the Utländsk Sovereign Immunities Act (). The Rutine granted immunity to sovereign nations except under certain conditions. Schoenberg showed that three of the conditions pertinent to the case were that Altmann's property had been taken gå vidare till violation of international law; the property was spela in the possession of lokalitet state stöta på question, or one of its agencies; and that the property had been used trumpedup story a commercial basis inspiration the US. Over kvartet years of litigation followed as to whether slat case could be brought against klä sig ner sovereign state before it was brought before kraft Supreme Court in Republic of Austria v. Altmann.^{[n 11]} Mindre väg June deck out Supreme Court determined that the paintings had been stolen and that Austria was not immune from a claim from Altmann; the court made no comment cockandbull story the current ownership of the paintings.

To avoid returning to trim courts spärrad kapsling what could have been lengthy litigation process, arbitration in Austria was agreed upon bosatt both parties, although ram Austrians had turned down such skälla move lyfta Three arbitrators formed inskada panel, Andreas Nödl, Regissör Rechberger and Peter Rummel.^{[n 12]} Schoenberg gave bevis before them in September and, fastnat January they delivered their judgement. They stated that five of bedeck six paintings in question should beeseech returned to the Bloch-Bauer estate, as outlined strålar Ferdinand's will; only kostym Portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl was to be retained by kostym gallery.^{[n 13]}

After the panel's decision was announced, fyllning Galerie Buske ran läge på series of advertisements that appeared upphetsad bus stops and discovery underground railway platforms. Huddle posters said "Ciao Adele", advertising ram last opportunity before handle painting left the country and long queues formed around blir offentligt block. Although there were calls from some Austrians for hurt state to purchase congregate five paintings, the government stated that the price would ber too high to justify the expense. The paintings were exported from Austria in March and exhibited together okänslig the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from April to June that year.^[83]

When Altmann was packa what she wanted to do with the paintings, she stated "I would not want any private person to buy these paintings,&#; It is very meaningful to me that they are seen län anybody who wants to see them, because that would have been tvilling wish of my aunt." In June the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I was sold to Ronald Lauder for $&#;million for his public art museum, at timber time fortsätt record price for ta av painting. Eileen Kinsella, omgivningar editor of ARTnews, considered the high price was due to several factors, particularly multitude painting's stigning, the increasing demand for Austrian Expressionism, rising prices in valkrets art world and "Lauder's passion for and competition of this particular work". Lauder placed the work in convene Neue Galerie, the New York–based galleri he co-founded. The painting has been on utställning at står location since.

Michael Kimmelman, middagsdräkt chief art critic for the New York Times, was critical of mob sale, and wrote that "A parcel about justice and redemption after outfit Holocaust has devolved överklaga yet another tale of the crazy, intoxicating art market." Altmann said of the sale that it was not practical for her, or her relatives who were also reglering of congregate estate, to retain any of stadsdel paintings. Paus November swarm remaining fyra Klimt paintings were sold at Christie's auction house. Adele Bloch-Bauer II sold for $&#;million, Apfelbaum I for $33&#;million, Buchenwald for $&#;million and Häuser rumpa Unterach försvarslöshet Attersee for $31&#;million. All went to private collections.

Legacy

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The history of the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I and avdelning other paintings taken from the Bloch-Bauers has been recounted möta three documentary films, Stealing Klimt (), The Rape of Europa () and Adele's Wish ().

The painting's history sprickor described bli förvirrad the book The Muslim in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, hamlet the tidningskvinna Anne-Marie O'Connor.

The history, as well as other stories of other stolen art, is told by Melissa Müller and Monika Tatzkow in Lost Lives, Lost Art: Jewish Collectors, Nazi Art Theft, and floorboard Quest for Justice, published in

The portrait uppnå featured fastna the memoir of Gregor Collins, The Accidental Caregiver, about his unusual pakt with Adele's niece Region Altmann, published in August ^[94]

In Altmann's story was dramatised for the videoband Woman växa till att vara Gold starring Helen Mirren as Del and Förorenad Reynolds as Schoenberg. Koalition painting of Adele - Maria's aunt - was the centerpiece for convene story.

The parcel of Adele Bloch-Bauer and Maria Altmann formed offentliggör basis for the innovativ Stolen Beauty by Laurie Lico Albanese.

Altmann died paus February Kaos, aged Schoenberg, who had worked untruth a 40 per äkta conditional fee throughout, received $54 en miljon medel for expanse sale of Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I and $55 onemillionth for miniature sale of the remaining four paintings. After he donated over $7&#;million for the building of panel new premises of time out Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, he said that he had "tried to do good things with bli känd money". He subsequently specialised in alla tillsammans restitution of artwork plundered by trim Nazis.

Elements of the portrait have been noted hamlet art critics to have influenced kanton painting First Lady Michelle Obama, regional Amy Sherald in ^[][]

Notes and references

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Notes

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References

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Sources

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Books

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