Standing Girl c. 1908 - 1909

Egon Schiele made this drawing of a standing girl with pencil and watercolor. Look how the girl twists, her arms raised, almost hiding her chest. It's like she’s caught in a moment of vulnerability. Schiele's lines, they're not just contours, they’re like nerves exposed. It’s as if he’s peeling back layers, showing us something raw. I can imagine him, leaning in close, eyes darting between the model and the page, trying to capture not just what he sees, but what he feels, what she feels. The plaid fabric feels modern, yet he manages to give it a ghostly, historical feel. There’s something about the way he renders the human form – so fragile, so intense. You see the influence of artists like Klimt, but Schiele takes it somewhere else. It's like he's saying, 'Here we are, flawed, imperfect, but undeniably alive.' That’s what makes his work so captivating, even now.