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Reclining Female Semi-Nude from the Right with Bent Legs, Masturbating, 1912/13

Leopold Museum,
Vienna
Orange crayon on Japanese paper
37.1×56.1 cm

Artists

  • Gustav Klimt

    (Baumgarten near Vienna/Vienna 1862–1918 Vienna)

Unfortunately not on display at the moment
This highly permissive depiction of a reclining nude, her hand touching her genitals with a great sense of abandonment and relaxation, is an example of the outstanding erotic works by Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) which earned the artist both renown and ill repute among his contemporaries. The work on paper shows an especially high degree of autonomous artistry and is closely related in terms of style and motif to the rendering Reclining Female Semi-Nude from the Right with Bent Right Leg which was also acquired by Rudolf Leopold. While the artist had preferred blue crayon in the latter work, he exclusively used red crayon for the present drawing, something that was not uncommon for his mature period. Much like in the blue crayon drawing, Klimt masterfully varied the strength of the stroke and differentiated between delicate, often hardly visible contours for the naked parts of the body and much more powerful strokes for the face and patterned draperies.

FS

Object data

Artist/author
  • Gustav Klimt
Title
Reclining Female Semi-Nude from the Right with Bent Legs, Masturbating
Date
1912/13
Art movement
Art Nouveau, Symbolism
Category
Graphic work
Material​/technique
Orange crayon on Japanese paper
Dimensions
37.1×56.1 cm
Signature
Stamp (black) lower right: GUSTAV KLIMT NACHLASS
Credit line
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. 1377
Inventory access
Contributed to the Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung in 1994
Selection of Reference works
  • Wien 1900. Aufbruch in die Moderne, hrsg. von Hans-Peter Wipplinger, Wien 2019 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, ab 15.03.2019).
  • Gustav Klimt. Jahrhundertkünstler, hrsg. von Hans-Peter Wipplinger/Sandra Tretter, Wien 2018 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, 22.06.2018–04.11.2018).
  • Gustav Klimt. Die Sammlung im Leopold Museum, hrsg. von Tobias G. Natter/Elisabeth Leopold, Ostfildern 2013 (Bestandskatalog des Leopold Museum: Band 1).
  • Die nackte Wahrheit. Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka und andere Skandale, hrsg. von Tobias G. Natter/Max Hollein, München 2005 (Ausst.-Kat. Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, 28.01.2005-24.01.2005; Leopold Museum, Wien, 31.05.2005-22.08.2005).
  • Alice Strobl: Gustav Klimt. Die Zeichnungen 1912-1918, Salzburg 1984.
Catalogue raisonne
  • Strobl Bd. 3/1984: 2324
Keywords
semi-nudewoman/girllying figure (fem.)eyes closedmasturbationmouth slightly open

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i

Nachlass Gustav Klimt, Wien (1918); (1)
Helene Donner, Wien (o.D.);
Dr. Rudolf Leopold, Wien (1957-1994); (2)
Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung, Wien (1994).

  1. Nachlass-Stempel »GUSTAV / KLIMT / NACHLASS« vorne rechts unten
  2. Sonja Niederacher, Dossier zu Gustav Klimt. 26 Zeichnungen aus dem Eigentum von Helene Donner, 31.01.2018

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semi-nudewoman/girllying figure (fem.)eyes closedmasturbationmouth slightly open