Standing Female Nude from the Right, Her Right Hand on Her Chest, 1906/07

The present work on paper is part of the large group of “Striding and Standing Female Nudes” Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) created between 1906 and 1907. In the strictly upright and stretched posture, which is characteristic of most of these nude studies, Alice Strobl recognized Klimt’s fascination with Egyptian and Assyrian art. The Standing Female Nude in the Leopold Museum’s drawing also corresponds to this distinct type of ephebically slender, elongated female body, while the raised head further increases the body’s upward movement. The use of red crayon is fairly common for this group of standing female nudes, as is the concentration of strokes along the contours in order to heighten the effect of three-dimensionality. The striking posture of the model, who is supporting her breasts with her hands, previously appeared in Klimt’s 1903 painting Will-o’-the-Wisp and its accompanying studies.

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