Sitzendes Mädchen mit ausgestrecktem Arm und Bein 1913

Egon Schiele made this drawing, Sitzendes Mädchen mit ausgestrecktem Arm und Bein, with pencil, and wow, is it all about the line! Schiele’s drawing is so raw, it's like the paper is breathing along with the figure. The thing that grabs me is how he uses the line to describe the body, not just its shape, but its weight, its tension. Look at the way the lines around the knee almost seem to dig in, like the weight of the leg is pressing down. The lines vary in thickness and darkness, creating a real sense of volume and depth, but at the same time, it's so flat. This push and pull, this dance between flatness and depth, it's what makes it so alive for me. It reminds me a little of Matisse, but with a much more nervous, agitated energy. You can feel the hand of the artist in every stroke, every twitch of the pencil. It's like he's wrestling with the form, trying to capture something fleeting and real. It's a conversation, an argument even, and that's what makes it so damn interesting.