Egon Schiele's distinctive style is immediately evident in the 1910 masterpiece “Liegender Akt” (Reclining Nude). The use of tempera, watercolor and pencil on paper allows for a rich play of colors that come together with clear, precise pencil lines.

The choice of this technique enhances the sensuality and vulnerability of the subject. The reclining pose emphasizes the curves and contours of the female form, while the distortion of proportions adds an element of emotional intensity and rawness to the composition. Schiele's signature is visible in the center, suggesting a personal connection to the work.

The irregular and sharp contours of the figure stand out with great vigor against the deliberately neutral background, as in almost all of his works.

Meaning of the work

This drawing is part of the first works in which beauty becomes painful, carnality is exalted and mortified at the same time, the representation of the conflict between life and death is evident. The deformation of the body, its becoming almost androgynous, the large disproportionate hands, the "mutilation" of the knees clearly express the artist's interest: not the naturalistic portrait but that of inner suffering, of existential discomfort.

A new aesthetic of the body, which emphatically exhibits the flesh in explicit nudity, not intimate and private but a representation of sexuality as an emotional drive, no longer a simple object of the male gaze but a manifesto of a female psyche that Schiele was among the first to investigate.

The context of turn-of-the-century Vienna

For a reading of this work - and of Schiele's art in general – is impossible to ignore the context in which the artist had lived and trained: Vienna at the beginning of the century, which gave birth to psychoanalysis, modern philosophy of language and atonal music.

This climate of solicitations, together with a private life full of difficulties, is reflected in his works and has certainly contributed to defining his very personal and unique style, which still today divides and often disturbs the observer.

Egon Schiele (1890-1918)

Egon Schiele, one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, was born in 1890 in Tulln an der Donau, Austria.

Known for his extraordinary ability to capture the human essence through intensely expressive and provocative painting, Schiele developed much of his artistic career in Vienna, where he was part of the Vienna Secession movement.

Protégé of the older Gustav Klimt – even though he has never been considered a figure of the current – he had immediately oriented his art towards a unique and personal direction, characterized by a bold, twisted line and animated by impulses that made his creations visceral experiences.

His work focuses primarily on the human body and explores sexuality, vulnerability and the complexity of being. Schiele uses bright colors and bold lines to capture the emotional tension of his subjects. His most famous works include portraits, self-portraits and drawings of nudes that often provoke controversy for their audacity and direct, disturbing look at the human condition.

Despite his short life, cut short in 1918 at just 28 years old by the Spanish flu epidemic, Egon Schiele's impact on art has been disruptive and long-lasting. His works are still considered among the milestones of expressionism today, a source of inspiration for artists all over the world.

Schiele's masterpiece at auction

Schiele's work “Liegender Akt” (Reclining Nude) will be sold at auction on Tuesday 7 November 2023 in Turin by Aste Bolaffi. It will be part of an extraordinary exhibition of masterpieces by the greatest artists of the 20th century.

The event will be in person and online.