Egon Schiele:
Standing Female in Shirt with Black Stockings and Red Scarf. 1911, (Stehendes Mädchen im Hemd, mit schwarzen Strümpfen und rotem Tuch)
Gouache, watercolor and pencil on paper
55.3 x 38.1 cm (21 3/4 by 15 in.)
Auctioned at Sotheby’s in 2018
(Kallir d817)

Note to accompany this drawing at auction
(Based on commentary by Jane Kallir)

Egon Schiele’s early watercolors and drawings of nude or scantily clad women rank among the most sophisticated and provocative images in Western art. These raw and often vulnerable portrayals of young women sparked considerable scandal during Schiele’s lifetime. Yet his contemporaries—most notably his mentor Gustav Klimt—recognized the extraordinary refinement in his depiction of the human form.

“Stehendes Mädchen im Hemd, mit Schwarzen Strümpfen und Rotem Tuch” (“Standing Girl in Shirt, with Black Stockings and Red Cloth”), created in 1911 when Schiele was just twenty-one, is a hauntingly beautiful example of his early Expressionist style. Though the figure is not fully nude, her intimate garments, partially exposed chest and legs, averted gaze, and gesture of undressing evoke a powerful erotic charge.

Unlike Schiele’s more overtly sexual drawings from this period, this work achieves an almost classical sense of beauty. The figure is highlighted by a halo-like outline of white gouache—a hallmark of his work at the time. Schiele often divided the sheet into distinct color zones, each enclosed by the drawing’s contours and treated with unique attention. By mid-1911, he employed a rich palette within each area, creating subtle contrasts between compositional elements. Notably, the painterly complexity of the drapery stands in contrast to the flesh, which is rendered with minimal color.