Portrait of Paris von Gütersloh 1918

Egon Schiele painted this arresting portrait of Paris von Gütersloh with oil on canvas. The hands, held aloft, immediately seize our attention. This gesture, seemingly of supplication or revelation, has echoed through art history. Think of the raised hands in countless depictions of saints, prophets, or orators—each instance imbued with a plea to the heavens, a moment of divine contact, or an assertion of authority. Schiele captures this archetypal expression, yet infuses it with a rawness and urgency characteristic of his oeuvre. Consider how this gesture appears in ancient religious iconography, or in depictions of ecstatic saints throughout the ages. The pose carries a potent emotional charge, tapping into our shared, collective memory of spiritual yearning and human vulnerability. The eyes of the sitter stare unflinchingly, engaging the viewer on a deeply visceral level. The hands, seemingly suspended between offering and defense, resonate as a powerful statement of the human condition, caught in the flux of time and emotion.