Weiblicher Rückenakt 1998

Egon Schiele made this drawing of a female back, most likely with charcoal or graphite on paper. Look at that single line that travels from the shoulder all the way down the spine – it’s kind of amazing, right? There's something about the confidence and the speed of the line that feels so raw, so exposed. You can almost see Schiele's hand moving across the page, feeling the curves and contours of the model's body. I know that when I'm painting, there are moments when I feel totally connected to the subject, when the paint seems to flow directly from my emotions. I wonder if Schiele felt something similar when he made this. I imagine him really scrutinizing the posture of the model, and maybe even having some empathy for her. What does it mean to bear oneself? What does it mean to hold oneself together, or not? Artists like Schiele, like me, like all of us, are in this continuous conversation, always riffing off each other's ideas, trying to push the boundaries of what painting can do.