0016
Gustav Klimt
(Wien 1862 - 1918 Wien)
„Sitting Woman with Long, Openly Falling Hair (recto), Lying Woman (verso)“
c. 1907
pencil on paper (recto), red and blue chalk on paper (verso); framed
37 x 56 cm
Provenance
private property, Austria
Literature
cf.: Alice Strobl, Gustav Klimt. Die Zeichnungen, vol. II, Salzburg 1982, no. 1606-1614 and no. 1699 and 1703
Dr. Marian Bisanz-Prakken (Albertina, Vienna) will include this work (drawings recto and verso) in the supplementary volume to the catalogue raisonné of drawings by Gustav Klimt published by Alice Strobl.
Estimate: € 15.000 - 30.000
Result: € 35.840 (incl. fees)
Auction is closed.
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The side that is drawn in pencil (referred to here as the “recto side”) shows a seated female nude figure in profile, with her legs stretched out horizontally and her face bent forward, completely covered by her long, loose hair. The motif of the youthful, naked model with her long, loose hair partly or completely covering her face can be found several times within the group of studies “Nudes and semi-nudes in different poses from around 1907” (original title: “Akte und Halbakte in verschiedenen Stellungen um 1907”, Alice Strobl, vol. II, nos. 1606-1614, particularly nos. 1607, 1608a, 1610, 1611, 1630, among others). This drawing is consistent with these studies in terms of the long hair, body type and drawing style, which suggests that a dating of around 1907 is justified.
The side rendered in red and blue chalk (here called the “verso side”) shows a clothed woman stretched out diagonally, with bare shoulders and arms, her face partly concealed by the spread fingers of her hand held in front of her. The latter gesture can be found – in a slightly modified form – in several studies drawn in around 1908 for “Judith II” (“Salome”) (Strobl II, see nos. 1699, 1703), while the diagonal position is reminiscent of the study listed as Strobl no. 1650 (about 1907). The ideal of the gaunt body and the folds in the garment are in turn reminiscent of studies of reclining models also drawn in around 1907 (Strobl nos. 1653, 1655). In view of these and other similarities with studies drawn around 1907, I would date the verso side to around 1907 as well.
(Excerpt from the confirmation of inclusion in the supplementary volume of the catalogue raisonné by Marian Bisanz-Prakken, 25 June 2023.)