Liebespaar 1911

Egon Schiele made this drawing, Liebespaar, probably on paper with a pencil. The pale ground of the paper is almost like another figure present in the composition. These delicate lines, they almost tremble, don't they? The artist shows a great sense of vulnerability, and for me, that's always the goal. What is so interesting here is the contrast between the sureness of line, the places where the contours are described with one continuous movement, and the hesitancy of line, where Schiele appears to return again and again to the same area searching for the right expression. Look at the way the male figure’s eyes are defined with just a few strokes, but the mouth is rubbed out and redrawn again and again. For me, this piece makes me think of other artists like Gustav Klimt, with a similar interest in depicting the human form as fragile. Ultimately, art isn't about perfect answers, it's about the ongoing conversation between us and the work, an exchange of ideas across time.