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ONLINECOLLECTION

Woman’s Head, 1923

Leopold Museum,
Vienna
Red chalk on paper
48.7×38.5 cm

Artists

  • Helene Funke

    (Chemnitz 1869–1957 Vienna)

Unfortunately not on display at the moment
Helene Funke (1869–1957) studied from 1899 to 1906 at the Munich Ladies’ Academy, which, at that time, also had Gabriele Münter (1877–1962) and Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945) as students. Then she went to Paris until 1911 before moving to Vienna. This Woman’s Head of 1923 is a very delicate drawing in red chalk on paper. Skillfully, she accentuates a head with flowing wavy hair. Compared to her works in oil, her drawings and watercolors oft show faces much in line with the conventional representational ideal of a beautiful woman. The woman portrayed looks dreamy, almost shy, without establishing contact with viewers. Funke voluntarily lived a very reclusive life. The major portion of her pictures are in private possession today. In 1957, 88 years old, she died in Vienna, lonely and destitute.

Object data

Artist/author
  • Helene Funke
Title
Woman’s Head
Date
1923
Art movement
Expressionism
Category
Graphic work
Material​/technique
Red chalk on paper
Dimensions
48.7×38.5 cm
Signature
Monogrammed and dated lower right: H.F.23
Credit line
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. 1219
Inventory access
Contributed to the Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung in 1994
Keywords

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i
Dr. Rudolf Leopold, Wien (o.D.);
Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung, Wien (seit 1994).

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