Female Nude Lying on Her Back from the Right with Bent Legs, 1914/15

This work on paper is among the drawings by Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) that cannot be associated with a specific painting. Klimt nevertheless often asked his models to assume unusual poses which recall earlier paintings or were meant to furnish study material for new works. Thus, many of the studies boast an experimental character that goes far beyond a mere descriptive capturing of the figures. In the present study, Klimt emphasized the contrasting volumes of individual parts of the body, especially the broad, tucked up thighs compared to the narrow, seemingly stretched torso of the model lying on her back – an impression further enhanced by the missing arch of the chest. Bodies stretched in a similar manner appear in the studies, likely executed as early as 1915, with which Klimt prepared his painting The Girlfriends II.

FS