Girlfriends, 1917 by Gustav Klimt

The final works produced before Klimt's sudden early death in 1918 develop a loose, free line, as seen here, and pastel coloring, associated with Matisse and the Fauves.

In Girlfriends, Klimt maintains a fabulous Oriental backdrop as his decorative device instead of his older techniques of motif entrapment. The characters pose on an imaginary stage against a Klimtdesigned backdrop. It is almost a return to the artist's early roots in theater fresco work. The girl's turban, truncated at the top to catch the viewer's attention, adds another dramatic and exotic touch. As in Friederike Maria Beer, the girls gaze directly at the viewer, though without any of the psychological insight which has started to become an interesting advancement in these later works. In fact, in this representation of an overtly lesbian couple Klimt seems to revisit some of his older femme fatale mythology, with a return to heavy sensual and provocative expressions. The nude's form on the left echoes images from the series of erotic drawings scattered around his studio floor and both woman look like painted Russian dolls with their rosy round faces, rouged cheeks and heavy lidded eyes.