0002
Gustav Klimt
(Wien 1862 - 1918 Wien)
„Standing Nude Girl in Profile Facing Left (Study for "Die Leiden der schwachen Menschheit" - Beethoven Frieze)“
1901
black chalk on paper; framed
44.6 x 31.4 cm
estate stamp on the lower right
inscribed on the lower right: R
Provenance
Carl Reininghaus, Vienna;
collection August and Serena Lederer, Vienna;
Erich Lederer, Vienna and Geneva;
private property, Austria
Exhibition
1903 Vienna, Secession, 18. Secessionsausstellung (Klimt-Kollektive), 14 Nov. - late Dec.;
1962 Vienna, Albertina, Gustav Klimt 1862-1918, Zeichnungen, Gedächtnisausstellung, no. 41;
1976 Essen, Gustav Klimt, Zeichnungen aus Albertina- und Privatbesitz, Folkwang Museum, no. 22 (ill.)
Literature
Emil Pirchan, Gustav Klimt, Ein Künstler aus Wien, Vienna/Leipzig 1942, ill. p. 59;
Emil Pirchan, Gustav Klimt, Vienna 1956, ill. 130;
Otto Breicha and Gerhard Fritsch (ed.), Finale und Auftakt, Vienna 1898-1914, Literatur, Bildende Kunst, Musik, Salzburg 1964, ill. p. 51;
D. Thomas, Drawings by Gustav Klimt, The Connoisseur 1967, no. 164, p. 105 (ill.);
Arthur Schnitzler, Spiel im Morgengrauen und andere Erzählungen, Auswahl und Einleitung von Hans Weigel, Zeichnungen von Gustav Klimt, Frankfurt/M. 1961, ill. p. 343;
Christian M. Nebehay (ed.), Gustav Klimt Dokumentation, Vienna 1969, ill. 399;
Alfred Werner, Gustav Klimt one hundred drawings with an introduction by Alfred Werner, New York 1972, no. 11 (ill.);
Marian Bisanz-Prakken, Der Beethovenfries, Salzburg 1977, p. 54, pl. 5 (p. 90);
Otto Breicha, Gustav Klimt. Die goldene Pforte. Werk, Wesen, Wirkung. Bilder und Schriften zu Leben und Werk, Salzburg 1978, ill. 74;
Alice Strobl, Gustav Klimt. Die Zeichnungen 1878-1903, vol. I, Salzburg 1980, no. 760, ill. p. 231
Estimate: € 60.000 - 120.000
Auction is closed.
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Gustav Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze, a major work of Viennese Modernism, was created as part of the Secession's Beethoven exhibition, which opened in April 1902. In this unique Gesamtkunstwerk (a work embodying a synthesis of the arts), created by 21 members of the association, architecture, painting, sculpture and arts and crafts temporarily combined to serve a single central theme. The latter was expressed in the monumental Beethoven sculpture by Max Klinger (1902), which took pride of place as a cult image in the central hall of Josef Hoffmann’s ultra-modern, temple-like interior. The essential factor for the Viennese artists was not only the colourful variety of materials in the main work of art, but also the complex iconography of the half-naked genius enthroned in the clouds, fighting and suffering alone for humanity. All the paintings and decorations were dedicated to the themes of struggle and overcoming, longing and redemption – above all Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze, which covered three walls of the side room to the left.
Klimt allegorised the highs and lows of human existence in clearly structured scenes, probably inspired by Richard Wagner’s ideas regarding Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The left-hand wall was dominated by the hovering figures of “The Longing for Happiness”, “The Knight in Full Armour” and “Weak Humanity”, while the central narrow wall showing the “Hostile Forces” provoked the audience with the garish eroticism of the “three Gorgons”, whereas the right-hand wall was devoted to “Poetry”, the “Arts” and the shining, golden “Ideal Realm” of love. This resplendent final section directly alluded to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, specifically the words “Joy, thou shining spark of God” and “Take this kiss throughout the world” (from Friedrich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy”, translated here from the German).
Using casein paints, black and coloured chalks, gold leaf, stucco applications, semi-precious stones, costume jewellery and other materials, Klimt worked directly on the bare plaster surfaces, developing a radically new language of lines – including in his drawings. In the studies he drew in 1901, he already internalised the connection between his figures and architecture by making the posers’ positions and gestures follow geometric laws and stressing their frontal and profiled positions. He emphasised the specific character of each of his figures by means of succinctly stylised outlines in black chalk. Each of the four drawings (cat.-no. 2–5) presented here, which were created for different figures, conveys its own unique mood.
The preparatory study shows – in an inverted image – the figure of the standing adolescent girl belonging to the group of figures on the lefthand long wall. This part of the programme is described in the catalogue as “The Sufferings of Weak Humanity”, followed by the words: “Its [Humanity’s] pleas to the strong, well-armed man [the Knight] as outer driving forces, and compassion and ambition as inner driving forces, which move him to take up the struggle for happiness.” What is striking is the difference between the figure of the girl and the kneeling human couple with their austerely geometrical poses and gestures. Whereas the adults express humility and seriousness, the delicate silhouette of the girl stands out as a free and natural figure against the light-coloured plaster background. Apart from a few details, the study largely corresponds to the painted figure in the frieze. With subtle, accurate lines in black chalk, Klimt defines the contours of the gaunt, angular body shapes, thus achieving a sympathetic characterisation of puberty.
(Marian Bisanz-Prakken)