Bust Portrait of a Lady with Ornamented Blouse. Study for Portrait of Ria Munk III, c. 1917

This work on paper is a study for the painting Portrait of Ria Munk III which Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) started in 1917 but was unable to finish. Of the over ten known head studies which Alice Strobl associated with the full-figure portrait, this drawing from the Leopold Museum doubtlessly comes closest to the painted version. The drawing shows the same oval half profile with the distinctively round chin and smiling lips, though in the drawing the upper body is turned to the right and in the painted version to the left. As with the other known face studies for the Portrait of Ria Munk III, the artist used not only pencil but also crayons and white heightening, which invests the drawing with a painterly appeal. The novel arabesques in the woman’s dress also adorn the dress in the painting, though Klimt was unable to fully elaborate them in this final version. Klimt ennobled the drawing by investing it with a block signature, which suggests that he sold the work.

FS