My Husband and I recently watched the movie “Woman in Gold”. Both of us were awestruck and moved by the true story of a Jewish woman’s fight to reclaim Gustav Klimt’s painting of her aunt Adele (pictured above) that was taken by the Nazis. The movie is beautifully filmed and acted by Helen Mirren, but the real star is Klimt’s powerful painting, which serves as the centerpiece of this drama about family heritage, national identity, justice and the long-lasting devastating effects of WWII.

Seeing the movie reminded me of an amazing exhibit we saw last year in Provence at the Carrières de Lumières. My photos give a sense of the scale of the cave, but they don’t sufficiently convey the powerful experience of seeing images from Klimt’s paintings projected on every surface inside, from under foot to over head. The scenes constantly moved to music, evolving from one image to another. Klimt’s iconic patterns were everywhere, surrounding and enveloping the viewers, who wandered around, room to room, dwarfed by the huge interior walls. I felt like I was inside his paintings. Every year, they feature a different artist’s work and I feel lucky to have seen this special production in 2014!