Standing Female Nude in Profile from the Right, Her Head Turned Away, 1911

The depiction of a standing Nike, which Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) designed for his homage to Otto Wagner (1841–1918) in 1911, and a study for which is housed by the Leopold Museum, can be associated with a series of other studies of standing female nudes, including the standing woman in the present drawing. This depiction is characterized by overly slender and elongated proportions typical of the nude studies created in connection with the Nike figure. Alice Strobl suspected that this extremely thin female type, which was new to Klimt’s style, may have been inspired by the young Egon Schiele. We know that Klimt supported Schiele and also owned drawings by him. However, Klimt’s interest in Schiele’s expressive, linear nude depictions was only temporary. In the present drawing from the Leopold Museum, Klimt already seemed to alleviate the elongation of the depiction by means of soft, undulating shapes which come to full effect in the hermetical posture with folded arms and turned head.

FS