Standing Nude, Facing Right 1918

Egon Schiele made this drawing, “Standing Nude, Facing Right,” with what looks like charcoal or graphite, and its kind of a tonal drawing, with the tan of the paper acting as a colour in the drawing. It makes you think about drawing as a process. The most visible thing about this artwork is probably how the marks on the page make up the figure; the line is scratchy and broken, but it’s also decisive. You can see where Schiele has gone over the lines again and again. Especially around the breasts, belly and face. It gives the drawing a sense of energy and immediacy, and it really brings the figure to life. For me, Schiele has always been a bit of an inspiration. Like him, I'm interested in the relationship between line and form, and how simple marks can be used to create complex and expressive images. He probably looked at Klimt, but I wonder if he knew of the work of Paula Modersohn-Becker, his contemporary. Anyway, it’s a conversation, isn’t it?