Standing Nude, Facing Right 1918

Egon Schiele made this drawing of a standing nude figure with dark, simple lines on a pale, warm background. I can imagine him, quickly sketching, trying to capture the essence of the pose with as few strokes as possible. I wonder what he was thinking about as he worked? Was he focused on accurately depicting the human form, or was he more interested in conveying the emotion and vulnerability of his subject? There's a tension in the line that suggests the model might have been struggling to hold the position. The lines feel scratchy, like he wanted to get it down fast and didn't care about perfection. It's honest and raw, like a quick note jotted down in a sketchbook, or something you might show to another painter, to start a conversation. The work of other artists, like Francis Picabia, comes to mind, and how they pushed and pulled the figure. Ultimately, it's not just about what he drew, but how he drew it. And now how we see it, and how we draw from it.