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Reclining Female Semi-Nude from the Right with Raised Dress. Study for Water Snakes II, 1st Version, 1904

Leopold Museum,
Vienna
Pencil on Japanese paper
34.8×55.1 cm

Artists

  • Gustav Klimt

    (Baumgarten near Vienna 1862–1918 Vienna)

Unfortunately not on display at the moment
This work on paper is a study for Gustav Klimt’s (1862–1918) painting Water Snakes II. The original version was presented at the 20th Secession Exhibition, shown from March to April 1904, and Klimt would go on to rework the painting in 1906/07. While there is no extant reproduction of the painting’s first version, numerous drawings of reclining female nudes, which were created as direct studies or in connection with the painting, give us an idea of its appearance. Three of these studies are housed today by the Leopold Museum. They depict overly slender nudes lying on their back whose soft and fluid contours, captured with extremely thin pencil strokes on brightly shimmering Japanese paper, were to convey the movement of flowing water.

FS

Object data

Artist/author
  • Gustav Klimt
Title
Reclining Female Semi-Nude from the Right with Raised Dress. Study for Water Snakes II, 1st Version
Date
1904
Art movement
Art Nouveau, Symbolism
Category
Graphic work
Material​/technique
Pencil on Japanese paper
Dimensions
34.8×55.1 cm
Credit line
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. 1360
Inventory access
Contributed to the Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung in 1994
Selection of Reference works
  • Gustav Klimt. Die Sammlung im Leopold Museum, hrsg. von Tobias G. Natter/Elisabeth Leopold, Berlin 2023, 2. Aufl. (Bestandskatalog des Leopold Museum)
  • Gustav Klimt. Die Sammlung im Leopold Museum, hrsg. von Tobias G. Natter/Elisabeth Leopold, Ostfildern 2013 (Bestandskatalog des Leopold Museum: Band 1).
  • Alice Strobl: Gustav Klimt. Die Zeichnungen 1904-1912, Salzburg 1982.
Catalogue raisonne
  • Strobl Bd. 2/1982: 1390
Keywords
semi-nudewoman/girllying figure (fem.)both legs straight (fem.)postures and gestures of arms/hands (in relation to the head)eyes closed

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i

Nachlass Gustav Klimt, Wien (1918);
Johanna Zimpel, geb. Klimt, Wien (ab 1918);
Gustav Zimpel, Wien (o.D.); (1)
Ferdinand Eckhardt sen., Wien (um 1920-1952);
Ferdinand Eckhardt jun., Winnipeg (1952-1987); (2)
Galerie C. G. Börner, Düsseldorf (1987); (3)
Dr. Rudolf Leopold, Wien (1987-1994); (4)
Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung, Wien (1994).

  1. Nachlassbestätigung Gustav Zimpel auf der Blattrückseite
  2. Sonja Niederacher, Dossier zu drei Zeichnungen von Gustav Klimt, 31.01.2017, S. 9-13
  3. C. G. Boerner, Gustav Klimt 1862 – Wien – 1918. Zeichnungen aus Privatbesitz, Düsseldorf 1987, Nr. 12
  4. Rupertinum Salzburg, Gustav Klimt. Die Bilder und Zeichnungen der Sammlung Leopold, Salzburg 1990

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Search in collection

semi-nudewoman/girllying figure (fem.)both legs straight (fem.)postures and gestures of arms/hands (in relation to the head)eyes closed

2023/2024 Partial funding for digitization by the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport „Kulturerbe digital“ as part of NextGenerationEU.