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Dimensions: 37.5 by 57cm., 14 3/4 by 22 3/8 in.
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Provenance: PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE SWISS COLLECTION
Felice Filippini, Lugano
A gift from the above to the family of the present owner
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Notes: The present work belongs to a series of reclining nudes titled Liegende, which Gustav Klimt produced between 1914 and 1915. Although these compelling studies of nudes are not intended to be studies for any particular painting, the theme can be traced back to one of the artist's earlier paintings Wasserschlangen II of 1904-07 (see: F. Novotny and J. Dobai, Gustav Klimt, Salzburg, 1975, no. 140), showing a female nude flowing horizontally across the painting's surface.
The present drawing, however, reflects a development and change in style compared with Klimt's earlier works. The painter's ideal of a female body had obviously changed since the creation of Wasserschlangen II. In Liegende, the figure seems to occupy the entire sheet, which creates an emphasis on the beauty and seductive effect of the nude. The smooth lines with which Klimt captured the alluring beauty of the reclining nude shows his unquestionable ability as one of the most gifted draughtsmen of his time. These drawings "owe their existence and their inestimable fascination," according to Gustav Glueck, "to the sheer pleasure the artist took in creating them. There is a complete unity of composition, and the distribution of lines on the sheet is carefully balanced, a factor which further distinguishes these drawings from mere studies for a painting" (G. Glueck, "Introduction to the Portfolio 'Gustav Klimt: Zehn Handzeichnungen,' in Gustav Klimt - Drawings (exhibtion catalogue), Galerie St. Etienne, New York, 1970, p. 10).
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