Self Portrait with Checkered Shirt 1917

Egon Schiele did this Self Portrait with Checkered Shirt with pencil and gouache, and the colours and lines feel raw, like he's really trying to get something out. I can imagine him, wrestling with his own image, trying to pin down something fleeting about himself. The checkered shirt isn’t just clothing, it’s like a net, catching the light and shadow, but also maybe trapping him, like an insect in a jar. His face, tilted upwards, with those eyes looking towards the sky, it’s as if he is looking for something, maybe some kind of salvation. The drawing itself is jagged and scratchy, like he is digging into the surface to find something underneath. It makes me think of other painters like Munch or Van Gogh who were also trying to get something essential about human emotion and existence down on paper. Looking at Schiele I see a reflection of my own struggles and triumphs. We artists are always building on what came before, it's one big conversation. It's more like an echo chamber of ideas and feelings!