Standing Lady from the Right, Her Hands Covered by Her Shawl. Study for Portrait of Margaret Stonborough-Wittgenstein, 1904

The 1905 painting Portrait of Margaret Stonborough-Wittgenstein is accompanied by some 30 extant studies. As we know from correspondence, the artist started work on this series in 1904. For these studies, Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) first used Japanese paper instead of brown paper, while still adhering to chalk which he would soon exchange for the thinner pencil. This resulted in a very special effect. The design stage captured in this work on paper comes very close to the executed painting, though the depiction of the model appears inverted compared to the final version. The similarities include the overall contour of the dress, which broadens towards the bottom both in the study and the painting, and the patterned shawl, though Klimt scaled back this motif to expose the model’s shoulders in the painting. While the depicted is looking directly at the beholder in almost all the studies, the painted work sees her gazing into the distance.

FS