Zwei Studien eines sitzenden Halbaktes nach links. 1881/82.
Pencil drawing with black chalks and white heightenings.
With the handwritten confirmation of the estate of Hermine Klimt in the lower right. On thin brown board. 31.6 x 44 cm (12.4 x 17.3 in), size of sheet.
[KA].

• Outstanding drawing from Klimt's early creative period.
• Klimt's female nudes are among the most remarkable works in his graphic oeuvre.
• Comparable works can be found in important museum collections, including the Albertina, Vienna, the Kunsthaus Zürich, the Kunstmuseum Bern, and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden.

The work will be included in the online catalogue raisonné of Gustav Klimt's drawings, compiled by Dr. Elisabeth Dutz, Albertina, Vienna.

PROVENANCE: Gustav Klimt estate, Vienna (1918).
Hermine Klimt, Vienna (1918).
Phillips, London (July 11, 1983, lot 20).
Galerie Welz, Salzburg.
Private collection, Rhineland-Palatinate.
Private collection, Hesse (since 2013, Ketterer Kunst).

LITERATURE: Alice Strobl, Gustav Klimt, Die Zeichnungen vol. IV (addenda) 1878-1918, Salzburg 1989, no. 3197 (illu.).
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Ketterer Kunst, München, 406th auction, Moderne Kunst, June 8, 2013, lot 14 (illu.).

In his early years and during his studies, Gustav Klimt did a lot of drawing of models. In doing so, he followed the academic teaching method, which saw the acquisition of the technical tools as the basis for any kind of artistic practice in visual arts. Klimt's mastery in capturing material qualities, which was considered a special achievement, becomes apparent in this study. The additional use of black chalk in the pencil drawing allowed him to model the soft folds of the draped fabric. A slight white heightening lends the drapery a greater sense of materiality. Klimt only sketched the seated woman with a thin pencil line, anticipating the delicate lines of his later female nudes. As a reminder, so to speak, he sketched the bust of the female nude right next to it. This study is not only proof of the young Klimt's early artistic maturity, but also of his great skill as a draftsman, which had a lasting influence on the artist's entire graphic oeuvre.

Good overall impression. Slight mount staining. Minimal paper losses and creases in the corners of the sheet. Tiny paper losses in the upper right and lower right margins, professionally restored.