Egon Schiele

(Tulln 1890–1918 Vienna)
Stehender Rückenakt (Standing Female Nude from Behind), signed and dated EGON SCHIELE 1917, black chalk, gouache and watercolour on paper (coloured by another hand), 46 x 29 cm, framed
Jane Kallir examined the work in original and included it in the Catalogue Raisonné with the no. D 1971a. She noted that the colouring most likely is by another hand.

Provenance:
Collection of Gertrud Pfatschbacher (1921–2009), Linz
Private Collection, Austria (by descent from the above)

"The figure poses with the utmost ease and naturalness. There is no sense of constraint. The curvature and sensual fullness of the body are striking, and the lines, placed without hesitation, swell and flow."
Otto Benesch

In 1917, Egon Schiele focused on a series of drawings depicting front and back views of a model, almost as though he were sculpting around the figure, making it visible from all sides. Schiele’s interest lies solely in the different poses and the resulting line patterns, as well as in the modeling of bodies and the illusion of space.

In this particular drawing, the nude bends slightly forward, but as the supporting object, a chair or table, is not present, an odd impression of floating or falling is created. Continuous lines give the body its compact outer form, while its gently flowing modeling imparts a sense of lightness.