Reclining Nude (ca. 1912–13)
Original title: Reclining Nude
kurzbeschreibung
A female nude reclines on her side, relaxed, captured in a few graphite strokes on beige paper. Gustav Klimt drew this vertical sheet around 1912–13; the figure is limited to sparse outlines.
Description
Arms and legs crossed define the pose of the naked woman, who rests quietly on her support. Her head is pillowed to one side. Klimt draws with plain, sketch-like lines and forgoes hatching or internal drawing. The paper appears uniformly beige, with no shading or color gradations; light falls evenly across the sheet. The artist's name is written at the lower right.
Context
Klimt often used nude studies as preparatory work for his paintings, repeatedly recording female models in familiar poses. In his later career he turned increasingly to the relaxed reclining female body. This sheet belongs to a group of graphite sketches made around 1912–13 that prepared larger pictorial compositions.
Impact
Because shadows and details are absent, the figure remains light and almost incorporeal; a quiet, intimate mood emanates from her. The spontaneous line creates the impression of a fleeting moment, captured immediately.
Technique
Graphite on paper carries the drawing; with concise, confident strokes Klimt outlines the body's contours. He often applied such preparatory studies directly to the sheet without corrections, as is the case here.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)