0011
Gustav Klimt
(Wien 1862 - 1918 Wien)
„Stehender weiblicher Akt mit verschränkten Armen (study related to "Die Freundinnen II")“
1916/17
pencil on paper; framed
57 x 37.5 cm
estate stamp on the lower right
Provenance
from the artist's estate;
private property, Austria;
auction house im Kinsky, 21.11.2000, no. 122;
private property, Austria
Dr. Marian Bisanz-Prakken (Albertina, Vienna) will include the drawing in the supplementary volume to the catalogue raisonné of Gustav Klimt's drawings published by Alice Strobl.
Estimate: € 50.000 - 100.000
Result: € 64.000 (incl. fees)
Auction is closed.
The other drawing presented here, which Klimt created in connection with the painting “Die Freundinnen” (“The Girlfriends”), represents the well-proven type of the monumentally isolated front-facing figure anchored in the plane (cat.-no. 11). Based on his autonomous studies of several models, Klimt attempts to internalise the body ideal of the young “Girlfriend”, which is characterised by soft curves. This drawing, which is not included in Alice Strobl’s catalogue raisonné, bears subtle witness to this endeavour. Small accents, such as the different heights of the garters, the hatching drawn above the right shoulder or the face turned slightly to the side, break the strict symmetry; the hands of the arms folded behind the back peek out as a playful note, making the middle of the body appear all the slimmer. The fact that the feet are not shown brings the figure closer to the edge of the picture and reinforces the impression of sensual proximity; at the same time, the lack of contact with the ground gives the figure something of a floating effect. In Klimt’s figure drawings, this formula, developed around 1900, which emphasises the tension between sensuality and metaphysics, remained effective to the end.
(Marian Bisanz-Prakken)