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Lot Essay
In April-May 1912, Schiele spent 24 days in town jail of Neulengbach, Austria, on allegations involving the indecent depiction of child models. Local authorities, based on the testimony of the offended parents, brought serious charges against the artist of kidnapping, rape and public immorality. He was tried, fined and sentenced to time served for the final count only, and although he believed himself to be innocent, he realized that he had far overstepped the boundaries of social propriety, even if he had acted in the sacred name of art. He immediately desisted from using children as models, and changed his approach to the treatment of overtly erotic content in his drawings of women. Jane Kallir has written 'It was not so much that the artist intentionally toned down his subject matter, as that he, perhaps subconsciously, introduced an element of aesthetic distancing that placed more emphasis on unusual compositional angles and poses than on emotional impact' (op. cit., p. 151).
The present drawing displays this new manner, both in content and form. The pose itself, in which the model holds up her hand to cover her nose and mouth, as if to hide her identity and shield her allure, is a virtual act of self-censorship: she stares at the viewer, but does not speak or otherwise respond. Her enigmatic appeal may invite the leering regard of the onlooker, but at the same time her body language appears to forbid his approach. Although she is barely covered by a gauzy slip, with legs bared, she clenches her knees together, as if to discourage the viewer's advances. In this way she seems to represent Schiele's own guarded behavior in the aftermath of his prison experience; here the artist seems to have drawn the line, for the time being, at how far he would go to further challenge the strictures of contemporary social mores, knowing full well the consequences that such transgressions would bring down on his head.
The drawings of 1913 nonetheless display tremendous variety in the artist's selection of poses, which frequently feature the unusual and inventive placement of the figure on the sheet. This hunched pose might ordinarily come across as block-like and lacking in grace, but placed somewhat asymmetrically on the page, with the girl's limbs radiating from the intersection of elbows and knees, it is surprisingly engaging in a casual and natural way. Kallir has noted, 'This year [1913]... produces one of the most profound changes of the artist's career: the switch from two-dimensional to three-dimensional orientation, which will shape his drawing style for good... Schiele's drawing style becomes more volumetric over the course of 1913. Gradually, rounder, more wholesome shapes begin to emerge from the angularity of mid-year' (ibid., p. 490).
As noted in the cataloguing above, Schiele probably did not apply the gouache and watercoulor in this drawing.
Kallir has pointed out, 'From the start, Schiele's watercolors were priced higher than his uncolored drawings, and this led to the temptation to embellish his creations in order to increase their value' (ibid., p. 262). This should not impede, however, one's appreciation of Schiele's mastery as evidenced in the drawing itself, in which the artist has exploited the model's coyly mysterious gesture to excellent effect.
The present drawing displays this new manner, both in content and form. The pose itself, in which the model holds up her hand to cover her nose and mouth, as if to hide her identity and shield her allure, is a virtual act of self-censorship: she stares at the viewer, but does not speak or otherwise respond. Her enigmatic appeal may invite the leering regard of the onlooker, but at the same time her body language appears to forbid his approach. Although she is barely covered by a gauzy slip, with legs bared, she clenches her knees together, as if to discourage the viewer's advances. In this way she seems to represent Schiele's own guarded behavior in the aftermath of his prison experience; here the artist seems to have drawn the line, for the time being, at how far he would go to further challenge the strictures of contemporary social mores, knowing full well the consequences that such transgressions would bring down on his head.
The drawings of 1913 nonetheless display tremendous variety in the artist's selection of poses, which frequently feature the unusual and inventive placement of the figure on the sheet. This hunched pose might ordinarily come across as block-like and lacking in grace, but placed somewhat asymmetrically on the page, with the girl's limbs radiating from the intersection of elbows and knees, it is surprisingly engaging in a casual and natural way. Kallir has noted, 'This year [1913]... produces one of the most profound changes of the artist's career: the switch from two-dimensional to three-dimensional orientation, which will shape his drawing style for good... Schiele's drawing style becomes more volumetric over the course of 1913. Gradually, rounder, more wholesome shapes begin to emerge from the angularity of mid-year' (ibid., p. 490).
As noted in the cataloguing above, Schiele probably did not apply the gouache and watercoulor in this drawing.
Kallir has pointed out, 'From the start, Schiele's watercolors were priced higher than his uncolored drawings, and this led to the temptation to embellish his creations in order to increase their value' (ibid., p. 262). This should not impede, however, one's appreciation of Schiele's mastery as evidenced in the drawing itself, in which the artist has exploited the model's coyly mysterious gesture to excellent effect.