Reclining Semi-Nude

The erotic represented one of Klimt’s most important sources of inspiration. In his later paintings, the sexual subject matter is often concealed beneath a gossamer web of ornament, but in his drawings, the explicitly erotic is constantly evident. Seldom can the themes of sexual coupling and female masturbation have been more frequently or more exquisitely portrayed. Contemporary critics, as well as later commentators, have observed that explicitly sexual subjects incited Klimt to produce some of his finest drawings.

His depictions of the femme fatale and his drawings treating the theme of female sexuality have assured him a place in the history of erotic art.