Egon Schiele:
Newborn Baby (Liegendes Neugeborenes), 1910
Black chalk and gouache on paper
44.5 × 31.2 cm
© Leopold Museum, Vienna
(Kallir d384)

In the early months of 1910, Egon Schiele (1890–1918), then just twenty years old, created a small but deeply affecting series of drawings of newborn infants at Vienna’s 2nd Gynecological Hospital. Among them, Newborn Baby (Liegendes Neugeborenes) stands out for its quiet intensity and emotional depth. Today, three of these works are part of the Leopold Museum’s collection, which has provided valuable insight into their origins.

In this drawing, Schiele captures a newborn child moments after birth—naked, fragile, and utterly exposed. There is no sentimentality here, no softening of the scene. Instead, the infant lies alone, suspended in that first breath of life, caught between the safety of the womb and the vast unknown of the world. The image is both tender and unsettling, inviting us to reflect on the vulnerability that marks our very beginning.

Schiele’s technique plays a crucial role in shaping this emotional resonance. His use of black chalk is spare but expressive, with lines that seem to tremble with urgency. The subtle application of gouache adds just enough color to suggest warmth and life, without overwhelming the starkness of the composition. It’s a study in restraint, where every mark feels deliberate and alive.

This body of work was made possible through Schiele’s friendship with Dr. Erwin von Graff (1878–1952), a gynecologist who granted him rare access to the hospital’s clinical spaces. At a time when such access was uncommon for artists, Schiele was able to observe birth and pregnancy firsthand. This experience offered him a new way of seeing the human body—not as an idealized form, but as something real, raw, and in constant transformation.

These early medical studies mark a turning point in Schiele’s artistic journey. They anticipate the psychological intensity and corporeal honesty that would define his later work. Alongside the newborns, he also drew pregnant women during examinations, further exploring the themes of life’s beginnings, physical change, and emotional exposure. Even in these early pieces, we see Schiele’s deep sensitivity to the human condition—its beauty, its fragility, and its complexity.

This interpretation draws on curatorial notes from the Leopold Museum, Vienna, which holds the original drawing.