Half-figure of a Young Woman

Half-figure of a Young Woman

Gustav Klimt

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Half-figure of a Young WomanHalf-figure of a Young WomanHalf-figure of a Young WomanHalf-figure of a Young WomanHalf-figure of a Young Woman

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.