Klimt illustrations provide insight into artist’s obsession with female form

Vienna, Apr 30 (EFE).- Vienna’s Albertina modern art museum has unveiled a new show of Gustav Klimt illustrations, which offer a glimpse into the artist’s studies of the female form which he considered the cradle of human life and eroticism.

Gustav Klimt: The Drawings compiles 100 illustrations that delve into the techniques and mind of the great Austrian artist.

“They are studies for his great works (…), but many drawings are also works of art in themselves,” curator Elisabeth Dutz tells Efe.

It is the first exhibition that the Albertina Modern – a branch of the historic Albertina museum – has dedicated to Klimt (1862-1918) alone.

Klimt’s 100 drawings present a vast array of explorations of the human body, especially female.

The illustrations present the human form in myriad poses, many of them in a dreamy, contemplative state and many others charged with eroticism.

“Klimt was a great symbolist who explored the larger themes of life, such as sexuality, birth, love, old age or death,” Dutz adds.

The cycle of life is a constant in the drawings of the artist, who gained particular popularity for his female nudes and erotic themes.

Klimt also captured Viennese society towards the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century through portraits of women.

The Gustav Klimt: the Drawings runs until 17 July. EFE

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