Scheile's Desires

Black Haired Nude Girl, Standing (1910)

by Egon Schiele

Graphische Sammlung
Albertina, Vienna

Sex Sales! Unfortunately the rule is true, and we all know this, and Egon Schiele was no exception to the rule. While majority of his work was created for his own satisfaction and viewing pleasure, a number of his pieces that were erotic, or even considered pornographic were made to sale.  Women have been seen as sexual objects for centuries, and the depictions of women in artwork go hand in hand.  Schiele studied the female form in various ways and forms. Some of his depictions of the nude female figure were made to be references the female genitalia just from composition alone. Other erotic figure studies simply displayed the women’s body with legs spread open provoking the viewer with an overly red genitalia that was also spread by the inviting figure, and breast bare heighted with red areolas. Schiele was also interested in the young female form. Against society’s moral perspective, Schiele did various figure studies whose subject matter consisted of noticeably younger girls that were generally underfed and bared the face of sorrow. By doing so, the viewer is obviously forced to deal with the tension of the piece itself, but also the tension between the girl and Schiele cannot be avoided. This allows us as viewers to peek into Schiele’s head and to get a glimpse at his psyche through the girl’s expression within the piece. Which is really exciting when you overlook the creepiness factor and think about it. Here is an Austrian expressionist who was not only capable of sharing and expressing his thoughts, but also expressing the thoughts of his figures.

Photo & Information Credit

“Egon Schiele Black Haired Nude Girl Standing” The Complete Work http://www.egon-schiele.net/Standing-nude-young-girl-2-large.html (April 23, 2016)

Short, Chris. Scheile. New York: Phaidon Press Limited., 1997.