Female Model in Bright Red Jacket and Pants 1914

This is Egon Schiele's "Female Model in Bright Red Jacket and Pants", made in Vienna with oil on paper. It's easy to get drawn into the red, right? Schiele’s paintings aren’t about things looking 'right' in a photographic sense. Instead, there’s this emphasis on mark-making, on the physical process, that opens up a space to tap into something beyond representation. Look at how he handles the figure's flesh. The skin is rendered with these nervous, thin strokes of yellow and green, almost like he's mapping out the veins beneath. There’s a vulnerability in how the paint is applied, a rawness that reveals more than just the surface. Notice the way Schiele paints the model's supporting block. The swirls of brown and green are full of energy, almost as alive as the figure itself. Schiele’s work reminds me of Francis Bacon, both artists are unafraid to show the unsettling realities of the human form. These paintings are about more than just what we see, they’re about what we feel.