Egon Schiele:
Poldi (1914)
Chalk drawing
45,2 x 28,5 cm (17,8 x 11,2 in)
Auctioned at Ketterer Kunst in 2003 for € 59,800
(Kallir d1521)

What follows is partly based on the auction note that accompanied the work, expanded here with additional context.

This drawing portrays Poldi Lodzinsky, daughter of Kasimir Lodzinsky, a Fiaker—a horse‑drawn cab driver—in the Bohemian town of Krumau (now Český Krumlov). Schiele first met Poldi and her sister Trude during his stay there in the summer of 1910, when he sought a quieter rhythm of life away from Vienna. The Lodzinsky sisters quickly became part of his small, trusted circle, and their presence in his drawings reflects the ease and familiarity that grew between them.

In those early works from 1910, Poldi still appears as a child—open, bright, and drawn with a softness that mirrors her youth. By 1914, however, she had stepped into adolescence, and Schiele’s way of looking at her had shifted as well. His line becomes more intentional, the expression more inward. Her presence feels steadier, more composed. This profile drawing, with its clean contour and calm forward gaze, shows that new maturity with striking simplicity.

Here, Schiele captures Poldi in pure profile, wearing a wide‑brimmed hat that frames her head with a graceful sweep. The drawing is reduced to essentials: a few confident strokes define her features, the curve of her short, curled hair, and the tilt of the hat. The effect is quiet and assured. There is no dramatic tension here—only a poised young woman rendered with clarity and affection. The inscription “POLDI” beside her head reinforces the sense of a personal, almost emblematic study, while his signature and the date anchor it firmly in his 1914 output.

The restraint of the sheet is part of its charm. Schiele does not embellish or exaggerate; he simply observes her with a steady, attentive eye, letting the elegance of the line speak for itself. Even in this minimal form, he conveys a sense of character and presence that feels both intimate and timeless.

The drawing was made in 1914, on the threshold of a world about to change. Yet Poldi remains untouched by that turbulence, suspended in her own quiet composure. Schiele, with his uncanny ability to seize a fleeting psychological moment, fixed this calm on paper with a simplicity that is all the more powerful for its lack of drama.