Herrenporträt 1910

This portrait by Egon Schiele, is made with oil paint, the way he’s handled it is so interesting. It's like he's building up the face with these small touches, tiny adjustments almost like a sculptor would work with clay. The surface is really worked; you can see where he's layered and blended, especially around the eyes and mouth. There's this intense focus on the gaze; it's heavy and introspective. The colors are muted, earthy, which gives a sense of melancholy, but also a rawness, a kind of unvarnished truth. Look at the small detail of the man’s moustache, there is a certain precision, the fine detail contrasts to the rawness of the rest of the portrait. Schiele's work often reminds me of Kokoschka, that same psychological intensity, that willingness to lay bare the soul. Like them, Schiele uses the portrait to explore something deeper about human existence. It’s not just about likeness; it’s about feeling.