Egon Schiele
Self-Portrait with Peacock Waistcoat, Standing (1910)
Selbstbildnis mit Pfauenweste, stehend
Gouache, watercolor, and black crayon on paper, mounted on cardboard
51.5 × 34.5 cm (20¼ × 13⅝ in)
Private collection of Ernst Ploil
(Kallir P189)

In this rare and radiant self-portrait from 1910, Egon Schiele casts himself not in anguish, but in elegance. Draped in a peacock-patterned waistcoat—its plumage a symbol of vanity, vitality, and veiled defiance—he stands upright, poised, and almost theatrical. The gouache and watercolor shimmer with restraint, while black crayon anchors the figure in a world both stylized and sincere. Here, Schiele momentarily steps away from the raw introspection of his later works, offering instead a glimpse of youthful bravado, of self-fashioning as performance.

This piece belongs to the private collection of Ernst Ploil, an Austrian lawyer and devoted connoisseur of Jugendstil and early Expressionism. Born in 1946, Ploil has long championed the art of turn-of-the-century Vienna, generously lending works to Austrian museums and exhibitions. His stewardship of Schiele’s portrait preserves not only the physical artwork but also the spirit of a moment when the artist dared to be seen—untroubled, adorned, and unafraid.

It is worth noting that a digitally altered version of this portrait circulates online, rendered in exaggerated saturation and near-neon hues. Such distortions misrepresent the original’s subtle palette and emotional tenor.

This self-portrait is not merely a study in style—it is a quiet rebellion, a young artist’s declaration that identity, like art, is never fixed, but always in flux.