Half-figure of a Young Woman

Rapidly executed during Klimt's late period, this sensuous drawing belongs to a large group of works that focus on women, strongly recalling the central figures in the paintings The Maiden (1912-13; Národní Galerie, Prague) and The Bride (1917-18; private collection, on loan to the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna). Klimt was known to draw for many hours each day, often experimenting extensively with a single motif, such as the one seen here, of a woman with her head resting languidly on her shoulder. In addition, he relied on multiple drawings, sometimes from vastly different periods, to make a single painting, rendering it difficult to conclusively assign a drawing as preparatory to a particular painting. Most closely associated with The Bride and her long, almost geometric braids, Half-figure of a Young Woman is, characteristically, worked up from sketchy light gray lines into darker, more agitated strokes.