Reclining Nude with Drapery, Back View
1917–1918
Medium
Graphite
Dimensions
Sheet: 14 5/8 × 22 3/8 in. (37.1 × 56.8 cm) Frame: 23 × 29 × 1 1/2 in. (58.4 × 73.7 × 3.8 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Scofield Thayer, 1982
Accession Number
1984.433.196
Tags
Art Historical Context
Gustav Klimt's *Reclining Nude with Drapery, Back* (1917–1918) captures the artist's fascination with the female form in one of his final graphite drawings. Created during the waning months of World War I, Klimt was in his mid-50s and reflecting on a career defined by the Vienna Secession Art Nouveau, this work exemplifies his late-period shift toward intimate, preparatory studies. Unlike his opulent gold-leaf paintings like *The Kiss*, this delicate graphite sketch emphasizes fluid lines and subtle shading, revealing the nude's graceful curve from behind, with drapery adding a tactile contras...
About the Artist
Gustav Klimt · 1862–1918
Austrian painter and designer. One of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement, known for his decorative style and use of gold leaf.