Half-figure of a Young Woman

Gustav Klimt

1918 · Graphite. · Drawings and Prints

Rapidly executed during Klimt's late period, this sensuous drawing belongs to a large group of works that focus on women, strongly recalling the central figures in the paintings The Maiden (1912-13; Národní Galerie, Prague) and The Bride (1917-18; private collection, on loan to the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna). Klimt was known to draw for many hours each day, often experimenting extensively with a single motif, such as the one seen here, of a woman with her head resting languidly on her shoulder. In addition, he relied on multiple drawings, sometimes from vastly different periods, to make a single painting, rendering it difficult to conclusively assign a drawing as preparatory to a particular painting. Most closely associated with The Bride and her long, almost geometric braids, Half-figure of a Young Woman is, characteristically, worked up from sketchy light gray lines into darker, more agitated strokes.

Artist

Gustav Klimt

Date

1918

Medium

Graphite.

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Sir John Pope-Hennessy, 1982