The Embrace
Schiele spent his life rattling the cage of convention. He was always provoking—with disturbing depictions of the human body and, above all, with the explicit, uncompromising eroticism of his work. In the year before his death, the painter once again explored the eternal mystery and power of erotic attraction. The man and woman are utterly absorbed in one another. Crumpled fabric underscores the intensity of their embrace. But the couple also appear strangely tense, as if they are clinging to each other with poignant helplessness. Schiele painted this work during a personal crisis and it reflects his mood of doom, also conveyed by the hard contours and the bold brushstrokes.
1917
Oil on canvas
100.0 x 170.0cm
4438
Image © Belvedere, Vienna, 2024
Where you'll find this
Upper Belvedere
Permanent collection