In Gustav Klimt, Nudes and Portraits on Paper, six works on paper by Gustav Klimt (Baumgarten, Austria, 1862 – Alsergrund, Austria, 1918) will be displayed. He was one of the most free and courageous draftsmen of the early 20th century.
The selection of drawings, spanning some of his key themes from 1910 to 1917, focuses not only on the sensual and often explicit female nudes but also on his portraiture. Among the works on display will be one of his famous portraits of Adele Bloch-Bauer, the model for the iconic golden portrait from 1907.
His drawings have been considered by all art historians as essential for understanding the significance of Klimt as an artist. In fact, Gustav Glück stated that the work of the Austrian artist could not be fully understood without considering his drawings.
1917
While for most artists, drawing is a fundamental element, in Klimt, its understanding is essential to grasp his way of working and thinking. His drawings go beyond — even when they are studies for future canvases — the limit of being mere preparatory works, becoming an autonomous axis of his creative activity.
Klimt’s interest in drawing came to him at an early age.
1910
It is known that receiving lessons from Ferdinand Laufberger, his drawing professor at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna (the School of Applied Arts), was fundamental for Klimt. From him, Klimt learned the importance of mastering technique and understanding the anatomy and movement of the human body. This body would almost always appear either lying on an unseen floor or reclining on a bed or couch, which rarely offers any detail other than, at times, the suggestion of a sheet or blanket through simple strokes. In this way, everything revolves around the body, and nothing should obstruct the viewer’s gaze.
The work on paper — which he never discussed publicly and of which no one was a witness, with the logical exception of the models — was an intimate process for the artist. It seems that he drew on a low easel, tilted at about a 45-degree angle, allowing him to comfortably position himself in front of the person he was drawing.
From his friend Carl Moll, we know that Klimt had several models a day (in addition to any commissions he might receive), and that these models, if not needed for continuing the work on a painting, were often drawn by the artist.
1917
1917
The models, even the nudes that appear seemingly in careless poses, are subjected to Klimt’s instructions, who, as in his paintings, subordinates the model’s pose to the goal of the artwork. For example, the erotic drawings — which proliferated from the 1910s onward — present women in more or less forced positions, with the intent to openly present sex to the viewer. According to Alice Strobl, the great expert on Klimt the draftsman and author of the catalog raisonné, this was meant to “allude to the origin of human life, which is simultaneously the central point of sexual excitement.”
In this sense, these erotic drawings refer to Courbet’s “Origin of the World” (1866), albeit in a much more explicit way and with the same public scandal in its time. It has also been emphasized that the forced poses of these nude models are related to his avid fascination with collecting Japanese prints, which are abundant in these types of positions.
As for the period in which these drawings are confined, they are situated between 1910, the year he participated with 22 works in the Venice Biennale, and the last months of 1917 or the early days of 1918, since Gustav Klimt passed away on the morning of February 6th.
1916
Nude, Standing, looking ahead, with hands on hips,
1917
Pencil on paper
55,9 x 35,5 cm.
GK006