Die Neukunstgruppe and Friends of Schiele: Erwin Osen
Half‑Nude with Skirt. The Dancer Moa Mandu (Halbakt mit Rock. Die Tänzerin Moa Mandu), 1911
Watercolour, gouache and pencil on paper
45 × 34 cm
Auctioned at Dorotheum in 2025 for EUR 60,000

Painted in 1911, this intimate study of the dancer Moa Mandu shows Osen at a moment when his approach to the human figure was becoming increasingly nuanced and psychologically attuned. Moa appears in a moment of poised stillness, her torso bared and her turquoise skirt marked by delicate red veining. The raised arm, the slight turn of the body, and the soft washes of colour give the sheet its quiet emotional charge, while Osen’s thin, searching line traces her form with a mixture of restraint and tenderness.

The block‑letter signature “OSEN ERWIN” at lower left, with its angular Secessionist rhythm, closely echoes the graphic style also used by Schiele at this time — a reminder of the artistic proximity between the two men. Rather than suggesting imitation, it reflects the shared visual vocabulary of their circle, in which even the signature functioned as a designed element.

Discussions around Osen’s relationship to Schiele have long been coloured by the disparity in their later reputations. Because Schiele became famous and Osen remained comparatively obscure, similarities in line or pose are sometimes interpreted as imitation. Yet the two worked in close proximity, sharing models, influences, and graphic habits. Their dialogue was far more reciprocal than later narratives suggest, and influence may well have moved in both directions.

The question is further complicated by the art market. This sheet sold for EUR 60,000 — a strong result for Osen, yet a fraction of what a comparable Schiele drawing would command. Such disparities inevitably shape interpretation, but fame is not evidence, and the market is not a measure of authorship. The sheet itself argues for a more generous understanding of their shared experimentation.

Seen today, Half‑Nude with Skirt stands as one of Osen’s most evocative early portraits, offering a glimpse into the quiet emotional world that underlies his art — shaped not by theatrical gesture but by observation, empathy, and a refined sense of human presence.

Interested in more by Osen, see another Moa drawing by him here: https://schieleandklimt.com/2026/02/05/sitting-semi-nude-dancer-moa-1912-erwin-osen/