Seated Nude in Shoes and Stockings 1918

Editor: This is Egon Schiele's 1918 ink drawing, "Seated Nude in Shoes and Stockings." The woman’s pose is definitely arresting. I'm curious, what strikes you most when you look at this drawing? Curator: You know, it's Schiele's line, always that trembling, almost brutal contour. He could carve a soul with it. Do you see how the stockings and shoes—items of adornment and fetish—frame the vulnerability of the nude? Editor: Yes, it creates such a striking contrast. Curator: It’s not merely a contrast, it's a paradox. He presents a woman adorned but exposed, confident but seemingly fragile. Schiele has a unique way of conveying both sensuality and discomfort in the same stroke, doesn't he? This makes us, the viewers, question what we really see...and what we want to see, I might add. Editor: I suppose so. What do you think he’s trying to tell us about his subject through the style? Curator: Tell? Or perhaps show? I believe he invites us into an intimate psychological space. Think of the post-war unease, the influenza pandemic raging while Schiele produced works such as these…it all seeps into his art. Schiele wasn't interested in portraying beauty; he wanted to capture the raw, unnerving essence of existence. Editor: It definitely feels very raw and unnerving. This has made me see the piece in a new light, beyond just a nude drawing. Curator: Absolutely. It's about digging into the anxieties and desires bubbling beneath the surface of that era - of our own. Isn't it marvellous when a single line can convey so much?