Semi-Dressed Model 1917

Egon Schiele’s ‘Semi-Dressed Model’ is rendered in a delicate yet assertive line drawing. The composition is immediately striking for its dynamic arrangement of the figure, angled across the paper to create tension. Schiele masterfully uses line to define form, but more importantly to convey emotion. Notice the bold, almost crude lines that delineate the model’s body, which contrast with more fragile strokes that capture the delicate features of her face. The model's body is fragmented and reassembled through Schiele's subjective lens. This technique, characteristic of Expressionism, allowed Schiele to use the body as a canvas for exploring psychological states, and anxieties about identity and the self. The negative space around the figure is as important as the drawn lines; it amplifies the model's vulnerability, almost as if she is floating within her own emotional landscape. Schiele challenges conventional representations of beauty, inviting us to consider the raw, often unsettling realities of human existence.