Egon Schiele

Self-Portrait with Orange Cloak
1913
Watercolour, gouache, and pencil.
Signed and dated, lower right.
48 x 31.5 cm
Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna

The piece I am going to evaluate is a self-portrait by Egon Schiele. The painting, done using oil paint, shows himself, particularly thin, in the centre of the canvas, with a lifted hand holding his chin. His head is tilted to the right. Using acrylic paint Schiele shows a mixture of different strokes to create the overall image. The texture of the jacket has been created by bold brush stroke, whereas the face still uses bold strokes but just a lot thinner.

This piece shows the twisted, obscure and warped way in which Egon Schiele views himself. He created this piece when he was a young man, however the image portrayed to the viewer is completely different. His hands for instance, are extremely thin and aged, unlike the real life subject.

Egon Schiele either dislikes his actual face and is trying to hide it in this abstracted piece or he is trying to express more than just his facial features. In other words is he trying to capture his feelings, emotions and views instead of an accurate portrait? This would be backed up with the fact that the painting is so powerful and full of vigor. Schiele uses such harsh, bold outlines that it suggests he was trying to show the viewer more than an image of himself. Whichever Egon Schiele was actually trying to achieve this piece is still successful.