Egon Schiele

(Tulln 1890–1918 Vienna)
Sitzendes Mädchen mit rotem Hut (Seated Girl with Red Hat), 1910, estate stamp and a sketch of a male nude in charcoal on the reverse, watercolour and charcoal on paper, 44.6 x 30.8 cm
Listed and illustrated:
Jane Kallir, Egon Schiele. The complete works, New York 1998, p. 405, cat. rais. no. D 500

Provenance:
Collection Emanuele Fiano, Rome
Sale: Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, Stuttgart, November 26–27, 1957, lot 941
Collection Viktor Fogarassy (1911–1989), Graz
Private Collection, Austria
thence by descent to the present owner

Literature:
Alessandra Comini, Egon Schiele, New York 1976, plate 3

Exhibition and Catalogue:
Darmstadt, 2. Internationale der Zeichnung, Mathildenhöhe, July 16 – September 9, 1968, cat. no. 9, ill.
Innsbruck, Gustav Klimt. Egon Schiele: Zeichnungen und Aquarelle, Galerie im Taxispalais, July–August 1973

The year 1910 marks the beginning of Egon Schiele's independent, outstandingly progressive, and innovative drawing style. A remarkable innovation is his omission of any spatial accessories; from now on, his figures emerge solely from an empty background, clearly outlined and differentiated in their inner zones. The colours appear rather cool and almost dematerialized. From this year onwards, Schiele, alongside Kokoschka, becomes unmistakably one of the protagonists of "Viennese Expressionism," which was primarily characterized by the "shedding of decoration and the intentional, expression-driven uglification of Art Nouveau forms," combined with subjective, psychological empathy. (Rudolf Leopold)

1910 was also Schieleʼs first, enormously productive year. In addition to nudes, children, and landscapes, a series of portraits of elegant ladies stands out, some featuring a distinctive wide-brimmed hat as a striking accessory. Today, it is no longer possible to determine who this beautiful young woman was, whom Schiele places in a strict vertical position, centered on the sheet. The slight bend in the seated legs is barely noticeable, while the slight tilt of the head gives the rigid line a charming, almost coquettish endpoint. "Everything he created, whether figure, landscape, or still life, lives in space, regardless of its value as a surface ornament," Otto Benesch already recognized. "His contour lines are continuous, soft, and flowing, then again abruptly interrupted by his own 'stitching technique,' enhancing the plasticity of the form while also serving as a flat ornament." This working with contrasts is also evident in the depiction of a gentle expression of the face, with its most beautiful evenness, and the raw drawing of the hands, "signs of that angular, bony, ugly, and almost repellent world of forms, which in Schiele's art is paired with the graceful and poetic." (Otto Benesch)

The very watery application of watercolour is deliberately distributed over specific parts – arms, hands, and face in light orange – which gives the depiction a psychological restlessness, while the accessories of the hat and dress in light burgundy provide exciting accents.