Egon Schiele:
Portrait of a Woman with Black Hair (Bildnis einer schwarzhaarigen Frau), 1914
Gouache, watercolor, and black crayon on paper
45.7 × 32.9 cm
Private collection
(Kallir d1482)

This drawing belongs to a small cluster of works from 1914 in which the same dark‑haired woman appears repeatedly. Schiele seems to have worked with her over one or a few concentrated sessions, producing frontal portraits and several nude studies that share the same hair, facial structure, and general physical presence. The sitter is not identified in the literature, but the consistency across these sheets points to a brief period of focused work with her, likely in his studio rather than through a formal commission.

The timing of these sessions places them within a transitional moment in Schiele’s life and practice. In mid‑1914, the political atmosphere in Vienna was shifting as the outbreak of the First World War approached, and Schiele’s long reliance on Wally Neuzil as a central model was beginning to recede. Working with anonymous sitters from the local working‑class or entertainment sectors was common for him at this stage. Their anonymity gave him freedom to explore form, contour, and structure without the expectations attached to bourgeois portraiture or to known figures in his circle.

In this sheet, Schiele concentrates almost entirely on the head. The hair is treated as a dense, dark mass surrounding the face, while the features are set with firm, economical contours. The modelling is minimal. The body is only lightly indicated, consistent with other drawings from the same group. Gouache and watercolor stabilize the face, while black crayon provides the structural line. The drawing is direct and unembellished, without symbolic intent or psychological emphasis.

Stylistically, the sheet reflects Schiele’s movement toward greater structural control in 1914. Compared to the trembling, expressive contours of his 1910–1912 work, these mid‑1914 drawings show a more deliberate, architectural approach to line. The crayon outlines here are steadier and more geometric, used to establish form rather than emotional charge. This shift appears across the related nude studies of the same sitter, where the line remains firm even when the pose is more exposed.

Within Schiele’s portrait practice of 1914, this drawing stands as one of several records of a woman who sat for a few times. It forms part of a small sequence in which Schiele worked through variations of presence, contour, and structure with the same model.