Die Hetaerengespraeche des Lukian
Artist: Gustav Klimt (Austrian, 1862-1918)
Publisher: Julius Zeitler, Leipzig, 1907
Printer: W. Drugulin, Leipzig
Author: Lucian (Greek, about 120-after 180)
Date: 1907
Dimensions:
Slipcase: H: 14 7/8 in. (378 mm); W: 11 7/8 in. (302 mm); Depth: 13/16 in. (21 mm).
Book: H: 14 9/16 in. (370 mm); W: 11 5/8 in. (296 mm); Depth: 11/16 in. (18 mm).
Page (partially trimmed): H: 14 in. (356 mm); W: 11 1/4 in. (286 mm).
Medium: Reproductions: 15 collotypes of drawings on cream japan paper.Text: letterpress in black with gold on ivory japan paper.
Classification: Books
Credit Line: Gift of Molly and Walter Bareiss
Object number: 1984.613
Label Text:When not creating paintings for exhibitions and commissions, Gustav Klimt produced over 4,000 personal drawings and sketches. His drawings were frequently highly erotic—even graphic and sexually taboo—in nature. In them Klimt often rejected the decorativeness and detail of his paintings, working instead in a looser and more minimal style. The 15 drawings presented in this publication of Lucian’s Dialogue of Greek Courtesans, chosen by translator and publisher Franz Blei (who, as a writer, was known for eroticism in his work as well), are virtually unrelated to the text, as the dialogue discusses the role of courtesans (i.e. prostitutes) in society. Klimt’s drawings instead portray female eroticism in varying degrees of explicitness, a subject that would bring him notoriety and complaints of obscenity.
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