Nude 1917

Egon Schiele made this "Nude" drawing in 1914, and you can tell he did it in a flurry. The lines that construct the figure are so fast, so urgent, they speak of process, of thinking through drawing, of feeling through making. Look at the place where her right hand meets her face; the lines almost vibrate, they are so close together, so insistent. The drawing feels like a performance, and we, the viewers, are witnessing an intimate act of creation. The thin, wiry quality of the line is so distinctive, so Schiele. It reminds me a little of Matisse's line drawings but with a distinctly Viennese twist. Both artists use line to capture form, but while Matisse's lines seem to dance, Schiele's lines seem to writhe. Ultimately, it's this raw, unvarnished quality that makes Schiele's work so compelling. There's no hiding, no artifice, just pure, unadulterated feeling laid bare on the page.