Beschreibung:

EGON SCHIELE (1890-1918)Sitzende Frau signed and dated 'Egon Schiele 1917' (lower right) black pencil on paper 46.1 x 29.6cm (18 1/8 x 11 5/8in). Executed in 1917 FootnotesProvenance Private collection, Vienna and London (possibly acquired directly from the artist). Liesl Bunzl Collection, Vienna and London (by descent from the above). Thence by descent to the present owners. Literature J. Kallir, Egon Schiele The Complete Works, 1998, no. 1999 (illustrated p. 582). 'He had always been a demon draftsman [...] and his line, by 1917, had acquired an unprecedented degree of precision [...] Schiele's drawing technique – the armature upon which all his painted forms rested – had acquired an almost classical purity [...] Schiele's hand had never been surer, more capable of grasping, in a single breath-taking sweep, the complete contour of a figure. This extreme dexterity invited mannerism; when his subject was not particularly exciting, drawing was just too easy for him. And yet, when he was inspired, his execution was flawless; he had found, in the best of his late work, the perfect line' (J. Kallir, Egon Schiele Life and Work, New York, 2003, pp. 223 & 230). Expressionism was characterised by a deep exploration of identity, of individual inward analysis and questioning, and an unwavering scrutinization of a rapidly modernising world. In Austria, Egon Schiele was by far the movement's foremost exponent, swiftly leading him to become Austria's leading artist of the time before his untimely death on 31st October 1918, at the age of just 28. This astronomical rise to critical acclaim within his short lifetime goes some way to illustrate the utmost quality of his ability and the deep resonance his work found in contemporary society, though it was not without its trials. Generally unappreciated for many years after his death, we look back at Egon Schiele as one of the twentieth century's most prolific, confrontational, and challenging artists. As the youngest student enrolled at the Viennese Akademie der Bildenden Künste in 1906, it was not long before Schiele broke away to carve his own path through the streets of the capital, documenting his rampant adolescent sexual energy, together with the unceasing hypocrisies of 'civilised' Viennese society to which he belonged. Thus began one of art canon's finest examinations into the vulnerability of the human figure through an unabashed examination of the vagrants and prostitutes of Vienna, and of the artist himself. Schiele's works from the 1910-1911 period are known for their unforgiving frankness and provocative imagery as the artist focused intensely on questions concerning identity and the individual, sexuality, spirituality and death. This is often presented through the gazing youthful eyes of Vienna's street urchins, the explicit representation of prostitutes, or through the stark, emaciated nude figure of Schiele himself, contorted into varying positions and selves: 'Schiele the effeminate, the elegant, the dandy; Schiele the fearful, the anguished, the uncertain; Schiele the stoic, the angry; Schiele beautiful and Schiele hideous' (J. Kallir, Egon Schiele The Complete Works, New York, 1998, p. 68). This period defined his public character as the rebellious maverick who sought to question, probe and shock, intending to expose people for how they really were, and the works somewhat echo the grotesque faces by Leonardo Da Vinci in their gruesome exaggeration. This shock factor certainly helped garner awareness for Schiele at the time but also had a profound effect on his rediscovery later in the twentieth century as longstanding rigid social structures were questioned and confronted more vigorously. This brazen approach to human depiction did however eventually result in the artist's brief incarceration following a string of incidents in rural Austria-Hungary in 1911-1912. Accused of kidnap, rape, and public immorality, he was ultimately only charged with the latter on account of his