Eduard Kosmack 1910

Egon Schiele made this portrait of Eduard Kosmack with oil on canvas, and just look at the color! It’s an uneasy mix of browns, greys, and murky greens. I’m trying to picture Schiele standing there, brush in hand, maybe squinting a little. The paint is laid on thin, but Schiele has scraped into it in places. Can you see how the strokes around Kosmack’s eyes are sharp and agitated? It’s like Schiele is trying to capture not just what Kosmack looks like, but what it feels like to *be* Kosmack. There’s something incredibly vulnerable and unsettling about this guy. Schiele painted a lot of portraits, and he always seemed to be searching for something deeper than just a likeness. It's like he's saying, "Here I am, flaws and all," and that's what makes his work so darn compelling. Paintings like this make me want to run back to the studio and get messy. It reminds me that painting is an ongoing dialogue, an exchange of ideas across time.