Curled up Girl on Bed
1916/1917
Medium
graphite
Dimensions
overall: 36.8 x 55.8 cm (14 1/2 x 21 15/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
1974.83.1
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Created in the final years Gustav Klimt’s life *Curled up on Bed* (191/1917) an intimate glimpse into the’s enduring fascination with the figure. Working in on paper, Klimt captures a relaxed vulnerable pose with the fluid economical lines that characterize drawings. These works often as preparatory studies, allowing him explore form, movement, emotion before translating them his more famous paintings. just over 14 22 inches, the exemplifies Klimt’s style, created during the years of World War I. Graphite’s tonal range enabled him to both the gentle curves the body and the quiet of the scene without or elaborate detail. Today in the collection of National Gallery of Art, work highlights Klimt mastery of line and his interest in private, contemplative moments.
About the Artist
Gustav Klimt · 1862–1918
Gustav Klimt was born on July 14, 1862, in Baumgarten near Vienna, the second of seven children in a modest family of artistic bent. His father, Ernst Klimt, a gold engraver who had immigrated from Bohemia, and his mother, Anna Finster, an aspiring musician, instilled an early appreciation for craft and creativity amid financial hardship. Klimt displayed prodigious drawing talent, prompting his en...