Weibliche Gestalt in langem Gewand, ein Saiteninstrument spielend. Um 1896.
Chalk drawing.
Strobl 285. With confirmation "Nachlaß meines Bruders Gustav. Hermine Klimt" on verso. On brownish wove paper. 45,5 x 31,8 cm (17,9 x 12,5 in), size of sheet.
From the series of studies for the unrealized composition: "Weltliche und kirchliche Musik". Verso: Study of a seated figure in gown. Chalk drawing.

PROVENANCE: Serge Sabarsky Gallery, New York.
Shepherd Gallery, New York.
Galerie Ariadne, Vienna
Private collection Northern Germany.

EXHIBITION: Gustav Klimt, Galerie Arnoldi-Livie, Munich 1972, no. 11 (without catalog).

LITERATURE: Gustav Klimt. One hundred drawings with an introduction by A. Werner, New York 1972, no. 6 (with illu.).

The very well-documented oeuvre of drawings by Gustav Klimt is proof of an relentless creative power that made for the basis of his paintings in numerous preliminary drawings. Bit the model studies in these cases, go far beyond preparatory works in terms of their execution and artistic ingenuity. They are works of their own that say a lot about Gustav Klimt and his perspective onto reality. The atmospheric content that Klimt uses to underline the sophisticated theme of this sheet is striking. The subtle, almost tender line management models a female body that seems to echo the implied string playing in its easy motion. With these drawings Klimt worked out a world of sensual emotional expressions which have become exemplarily for his paintings. [KD].