Seated Lady with Hat in Half Profile from the Left, 1907/08

The present portrait study is possibly connected to two paintings Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) executed soon after creating this sketch. The composition of a model in profile from the left, wearing a fashionable hat and scarf and steadfastly gazing at the beholder, resembles that of Klimt’s 1909 painting The Purple Hat. However, the somewhat austere features of the woman in the painting differ significantly from the much softer traits of the model in the drawing. These correspond to the face in the painting Lady with Hat and Feather Boa created around 1910. The lascivious sideways glance from behind half-closed lids, especially, is a common characteristic of both the painting and this drawing. While Klimt executed the drawing using red crayon, he emphasized the area of the eyes by highlighting it with blue crayon. This technique of using both red and blue crayon also characterizes the studies, created around the same time, for Hope II (Vision).

FS