Friendship 1913

Egon Schiele created this contorted image of two figures, likely in Vienna, sometime in the 1910s. Here, the bodies are intertwined in a way that is simultaneously intimate and uncomfortable. Schiele worked at a time when Vienna was home to both great artistic innovation and great social anxiety. With his Expressionist peers, Schiele sought to challenge the conservative norms of Viennese society, particularly around sexuality and the body. Consider how the figures' nudity and their ambiguous relationship would have been seen at that time. The title of the work, "Friendship," is also significant. Was Schiele making a statement about the nature of male bonds, or perhaps critiquing the traditional art world? It might be useful to study the critical response to Schiele's work at the time, and to consider how his art was received by different social groups. Only through careful attention to social and institutional contexts can we truly understand the meaning and impact of artworks like this.