SCHIELE, Egon
(b. 1890, Tulln an der Donau, d. 1918, Wien)

Self-Portrait with Lowered Head

1912
Oil on wood, 42 x 34 cm
Leopold Museum, Vienna

Between 1910 and 1915, Egon Schiele formulated an unmistakable "Austrian" form of Expressionism with his completely new, radically expressive style of representation, with which he renounced Klimt's strong influence and the Secession. This grotesque and eerie self-portrait emerged in connection with the large-format painting The Hermits. From this work, Schiele adopted the posture of the head and shoulders as well as the similarly splayed fingers. The artist's eyes, twisted upwards, come strikingly to the fore as the head tilts down. His dark face with sunken cheeks emanates from the pale background.




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