Head of Dr. Fritsch 1917

This is Egon Schiele's Head of Dr. Fritsch, drawn with pencil and watercolour at an unknown date. The way he builds up the face, it’s not about smooth blending, it's more like an attitude. It's like, let's put down some lines, some colors, and see what happens, right? Look at the eyes, all this blue-gray color. It's like he’s trying to trap something elusive in there. The skin, it's like a map of little freckles and lines, each one placed with attention. And those lips, that slash of red, it's almost shocking against the rest of the muted tones. He's not just copying a face, he is building one, like Frankenstein, but in a good way. Schiele reminds me of Guston; both are obsessed with the figure, and both have this amazing sensitivity to line. It's art as an ongoing conversation, and Schiele is definitely saying something worth hearing.