Gustav Klimt

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Description

Gustav Klimt
FRAUENAKT VON VORNE (FEMALE NUDE FROM THE FRONT)
signed Gustav Klimt (lower right)
charcoal on paper
44.8 by 32.8cm., 17 5/8 by 12 7/8 in.

Provenance

Carl Reininghaus, Vienna (acquired from the artist in 1903)
August Lederer, Vienna & Györ, Hungary (acquired from the above in 1915)
Erich Lederer, Vienna, Györ & Geneva (by descent from the above; until 1985)
Acquired by the present owner in 1985

Literature

Marian Bisanz-Prakken, Der Beethovenfries. Geschichte, Funktion und Bedeutung, Frankfurt, 1977, no. 23, illustrated p. 54
Alice Strobl, Gustav Klimt, Die Zeichnungen 1878 - 1903, Salzburg, 1980, no. 797, illustrated p. 239

Catalogue Note

The present work represents one of Gustav Klimt’s most iconic nudes which appears throughout the artist’s œuvre. The present nude is not only a study for one of the most prominent female figures in the Beethovenfries, but also appears to recall an earlier work, the important painting Nuda Veritas of 1899. The piercing gaze of the figure seems to hypnotise the viewer and capture his full attention. Klimt makes distinct the different textures of skin and hair in harmonious lines, describing the nude in a most unique way.