Nude study at lake Wolfgang 1911

Full portrait of a slender, nude model standing on a stone on the lakeshore. Hair pinned back into a knot, upper body slightly tilted forward, pulling up a blanket halfway to the thigh. Water surface and landscape iridescently illuminated by intense early morning light.

JQAW# G_1911_070
Oil on canvas, 94 x 70 cm.
Signature: J. Q. Ɑdams Strobl 1911
Unknown private collection.

A further development of Adam's portfolio is represented by his nude studies in free nature. This was probably risky in the prudish times of the monarchy and only possible in rural areas in the early morning hours. The location of Strobl am Wolfgangsee is certainly not coincidental, as the area was well known to Adams from visits to the villas of his parents-in-law's Bürglgut estate and also from his mountain tours. A total of at least 5 outdoor nude studies are known, and their number is probably higher, as these were not traditionally documented in literature or exhibitions during Adam's time. The painting style is Impressionist-inspired, although it has been criticized by Künstlerhaus traditionalists as being too "secessionist," which is probably more true of the frames used than the paintings themselves.

Cross-references

Photo of the creation of the work

Adams at plein air nude painting

preliminary study for the painting 1911

Exhibited

1986: Academy Schillerplatz Vienna, Viennese Society in Portrait, Catalog No. 24

Literature

Schaffer/Eisenburger 1986, exhibition catalog #24 (w. color ill.).

APH, catalog raisonné JQA 1995, p. 1805, cat.#73 fig.#52.

Provenance

Unknown.
Salis Gallery Austria.
Fine Arts Gallery New Orleans, USA (no longer in existence).
Unknown collection (USA?).