2370 - Schiele, Egon. Reclining Nude, 1916. Color offset on thin paper after a watercolor by Egon Schiele from the portfolio "Egon Schiele—Five Drawings." Signed and dated in the lower left corner of the print, and monogrammed “AK.” in the lower right corner (presumably the printer Andreas Krampolek). Vienna, ca. 1920. Sheet dimensions: 42.5 x 28.5 cm.

Schiele, Egon. Reclining Nude, 1916. Color offset on thin paper after a watercolor by Egon Schiele from the portfolio "Egon Schiele—Five Drawings." Signed and dated in the lower left corner of the print, and monogrammed “AK.” in the lower right corner (presumably the printer Andreas Krampolek). Vienna, ca. 1920. Sheet dimensions: 42.5 x 28.5 cm. Sheet from the extremely rare portfolio published in Vienna around 1920, containing reproductions of Schiele’s “Five Drawings.” The five sheets were likely sold individually at first; the portfolio cover, featuring a colophon indicating a print run of 100 copies, was probably added later (see Kallier Research Institute, Egon Schiele: The Complete Works Online—Portfolios). - The explicit depiction—the original watercolor “Reclining Nude. Study for Reclining Woman”—is now in the collection of the Leopold Museum in Vienna (Inv. 2359, Kallir D1833)—depicts a woman with her legs spread, her labia, vulva, and clitoris clearly visible. - The “one-of-a-kind print,” as stated on the title page of the portfolio, was intended solely for subscribers. Presumably due to its erotically provocative content, there are no indications whatsoever regarding the publisher, place of printing, or the year in which the portfolio was published. The monogram appearing on each art print is evidently the initials of Andreas Krampolek (1869–1940), a Viennese art printer who specialized in photolithography. The color offset process used here represented the state-of-the-art in printing technology at the time. - The publisher was not identified until 1923. It was evidently Schiele’s most important patron, the Viennese art and antiques dealer Karl Grünwald (1887–1964). In 1923, Grünwald sent several copies of Schiele’s “Five Drawings” to the art dealer Hans Goltz in Munich for further distribution. When Goltz returned the explicit material to Vienna, customs authorities intercepted the package, and Grünwald was charged in September 1923 before the Vienna Regional Court with distributing pornographic prints. Although Grünwald was acquitted, a large portion of the erotic art prints was destroyed by the court authorities. - The sheet is mounted on the reverse along the upper edge beneath a mat, slightly creased and with minor surface imperfections along the edges; there is a horizontal fold line approximately in the center. - Provenance: Private collection in Berlin.