Reclining Female Nude 1917

Egon Schiele made this drawing of a reclining nude, probably sometime in the early 20th century. It's all restless lines and restless shapes. The colours aren't really colours, just hints of colour. It’s a recipe for a body, not a body itself. I’m drawn to the textures here, the way the ink seems to scratch and bite into the paper. Look at the lines around the figure's torso: they're not smooth, but jagged and broken, creating a sense of unease and distortion. And that dress, or sheet? It's like a storm of blue and white, barely containing the body beneath. I think this is because the body is barely containing itself. Schiele reminds me of another nervous line guy – Cy Twombly, except Twombly didn’t have the same kind of raw, almost desperate energy. They’re both showing us how making art is an act of trying to grab something slippery, something that’s always just out of reach.