Gustav Klimt

(Vienna 1862–1918)
Nach rechts liegendes Paar (Lying Couple to the Right), 1914, signed GUSTAV KLIMT, twice the number 104 on the reverse, pencil on paper, 36.8 x 56 cm
Listed and illustrated:
Alice Strobl, Gustav Klimt. Die Zeichnungen, Salzburg 1984, vol. III, cat. rais. no. 2451

Provenance:
August (1857–1936) and Serena (1867–1943) Lederer, Vienna
Erich Lederer (1896–1985), Vienna & Geneva
Private Collection, Austria

Literature:
H. H. Hofstätter, Gustav Klimt. Erotische Zeichnungen, Köln 1979, no. 15, ill. 14

This sheet belongs to the large group of drawings created between 1912 and 1915, of which Alice Strobl writes: “One gets the impression that Klimt no longer focused as specifically on certain paintings, but instead created a series of drawings for their own sake. This is particularly true for a large number of his erotic sheets.” (Strobl III, p. 48).

The latter category includes a group of drawings labeled Lovers, Nudes, and Semi-Nudes 1914, which are characterized by a particular intensity (Strobl III, nos. 2449–2457). One of these nine sheets is the drawing presented here, depicting a reclining couple viewed from the side. The lovers are arranged parallel to the picture plane, extending diagonally into the paper field. The naked female body stands out in all its brightness against the patterned drapery that envelops her partner, falling dramatically to the edge of the paper. The man is scarcely visible, yet his erotically active hand, is prominently brought to the fore. The entire drawing pulses with the sexual excitement of the couple, from the extreme linear dynamism of the fabric patterns to the electrically charged outlines of their bodies and the trance-like expression on the woman's face. In his late drawings these highly ecstatic moments show the artist on the utmost level of his line art.

Marian Bisanz-Prakken