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ONLINECOLLECTION

Two Male Nudes, Reclining, 1920

Leopold Museum,
Vienna
Charcoal, black chalk on paper
53.3×38 cm

Artists

  • Anton Kolig

    (Nový Jičín 1886–1950 Nötsch in the Gailtal)

Unfortunately not on display at the moment
The artist Anton Kolig’s (1886–1950) extensive painterly oeuvre is supplemented by graphic works on paper, some of them preparatory studies for paintings, but most of them autonomous works, whose number is estimated at around 2,500. Throughout all the periods of his oeuvre, Kolig focused almost exclusively on depictions of male nudes in the medium of drawing. What all of them have in common is that they show young, well-proportioned and powerful bodies. Kolig’s earlier drawings from the 1920s are characterized by expressive strokes with open contours, which make the models appear to be in motion, as in the work Two Male Nudes, Reclining. The stylistic change that occurred in the 1930s would remain a characteristic feature of his drawings until his late oeuvre: The male models now adhered to the antique ideal. The emphasized outlines are closed, while the delicate interior drawing accentuates anatomical details and invests the bodies with volume and plasticity. The artist depicted his models in passive poses, lying on their front or their back. The young men seem to have been left to themselves, they appear frozen in their positions and expose themselves to the beholders’ gaze in a detached manner.

Object data

Artist/author
Title
Two Male Nudes, Reclining
Date
1920
Art movement
Nötsch Circle, Expressionism
Category
Graphic work
Material​/technique
Charcoal, black chalk on paper
Dimensions
53.3×38 cm
Signature
Monogrammed and dated lower right: A. K. - 1920
Credit line
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. 888
Inventory access
Contributed to the Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung in 1994
Selection of Reference works
  • Anton Kolig, hrsg. von Hans-Peter Wipplinger, Köln 2017 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, 22.09.2017-08.01.2018).
Keywords

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i
Dr. Rudolf Leopold, Wien (o.D.);
Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung, Wien (seit 1994).

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