Kind in schwarzen Kleidern

Schiele first began to draw children and street urchins in 1910 and they became a strong preoccupation of the artist for the rest of his life. Executed in 1911, Kind in schwarzen Kleidern is an early example of Schiele's work illustrating the loose, wet application of paint, he then favoured. This technique which Schiele employed generated a surface which was dominated by flow of water rather than by the brushstroke. Typical also, is the colour combination of black, with a sparse use of orange and white to heighten and emphasise the expressiveness of the forms. In 1911, Schiele was living in the small Austrian town of Krumau, having left Vienna for a more natural and inspiring environment. For a while, Schiele led an idyllic existence in his Krumau garden house. Shortly after his arrival, Schiele wrote in a letter: 'I am happy, I am happy... the children call me 'Lord god Painter' because I go around the garden in this smock. I draw all sorts of children and old women, leather faces, idiots, etc.' (Letter to Oskar Reichel, quoted in: J. Kallir, Egon Schiele, The complete works, London 1989, p. 111).