Gustav Klimt:
Seated Semi-Nude with Scarf (Sitzender Halbakt mit Schal), 1916–1917
Watercolour, pencil, and white gouache on paper
50 × 32.5 cm (19¾ × 12¾ in)
(Strobl s2844)
To be auctioned at Sotheby’s

This drawing was part of the personal collection of Austrian singer and composer Udo Jürgens. Created in the final years of Klimt’s life, it reflects his fascination with the female form and his ability to evoke emotion through minimal means.

The figure is rendered with delicate pencil lines, while the scarf or headwear bursts with colour and texture. This contrast draws the eye to the upper portion of the composition, creating a quiet tension between presence and absence. The unfinished lower body adds a sense of intimacy and introspection, typical of Klimt’s late works.

According to Alice Strobl’s catalogue raisonné, this drawing is linked to Klimt’s lost or destroyed painting Leda, which depicted the mythological seduction of Leda by Zeus in the form of a swan. Strobl suggests that this piece may have served as a preparatory study or thematic companion to Leda, continuing Klimt’s exploration of sensuality, mythology, and feminine grace.