Seated Woman in Corset and Boots 1918

Egon Schiele made this drawing of a seated woman with ink on paper. He was interested in the expressive possibilities of line, and you can see it here in the tense, almost frantic quality of the marks. The drawing feels immediate, a record of Schiele’s direct encounter with the model. It's like he's trying to capture not just what she looks like but also something about her inner state. The lines are wiry and uneven, creating a sense of unease. I’m drawn to the way he renders her hands, so angular and seemingly out of proportion. They speak to a kind of vulnerability or awkwardness, a sense of being ill-at-ease in her own skin. Schiele uses the line to distort and exaggerate certain features, pushing the boundaries of representation to reveal something more profound about the human condition. This reminds me of Marlene Dumas, who similarly uses figuration to explore raw emotions and psychological states. With Schiele, as with so many artists, it's not about perfection or accuracy, but about finding new ways of seeing and feeling.