Lot 17
  • 17

Egon Schiele

Estimate
700,000 - 1,000,000 USD
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Description

  • Egon Schiele
  • SITZENDER FRAUENAKT MIT GENEIGTEM KOPF UND ERHOBENEN ARMEN (SEATED FEMALE NUDE WITH TILTED HEAD AND RAISED ARMS)
  • Signed with the initial S. and dated 10. (lower right)
  • Gouache, watercolor and black crayon on paper
  • 17 5/8 by 12 1/4 in.
  • 44.8 by 31.1 cm

Provenance

Sale: Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, Stuttgart, November 26-27, 1957, lot 940

Serge Sabarsky, New York

Private Collection (acquired from the Estate of the above by the present owner and sold: Sotheby's, London, June 21, 2004, lot 30)

Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Exhibited

Tokyo, The Seibu Museum of Art, Egon Schiele: An Exhibition of Watercolors and Drawings, 1979, no. 19, illustrated in the catalogue

Vienna, Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien; Linz, Neue Galerie der Stadt Linz; Munich, Museum Villa Stuck & Hanover, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Egon Schiele: Aquarelle und Zeichnungen, 1981-82, no. 19, illustrated in the catalogue

Paris, Hôtel de Ville, Salle Saint-Jean; Kaiserslautern, Pfalzgalerie; Bolzano, Museo Civico & Turin, Palazzo Reale, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Egon Schiele: Dessins et aquarelles, 1984-85, no. 65, illustrated in the catalogue

Tokyo, Isetan Museum; Nagoya, Aichi Prefectural Museum; Nara, Prefectorial Museum; Kofu City, Yamanshi Prefectural Museum & Kamakura Museum of Art, Egon Schiele und Wien zur Jahrhundertwende, 1986, no. 28, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Vienna, Bawag Foundation (and travelling in Austria, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal, Czechoslovakia, Slovenia and Poland), Egon Schiele; 100 Zeichnungen und Aquarelle, 1988-97, no. 42, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Literature

Serge Sabarsky, Egon Schiele: Disegni erotici, Milan, 1981, illustrated pl. 2

Serge Sabarsky, Egon Schiele: Watercolors and Drawings, New York, 1983, illustrated pl. 3

Jane Kallir, Egon Schiele: The Complete Works, New York, 1998, no. 512, illustrated p. 406

Condition

In very good condition. The sheet of wove paper used for this drawing is a little time-stained, but in a good condition apart from minor creasing. It is hinged to an overlay mount. There are artist pinholes and small associated paper losses, upper right and lower left. There is a small tear on the top edge. Overall, in a good bright condition with a little rubbing to the pigment of the hair. This work is in very good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Executed in 1910, the present work is a striking example of Schiele's nudes, characterizing the early Expressionist period of his career displayed by his bold experimentation and innovation. For the most part, the figures executed during this period are beautifully colored with transparent flesh tones and explicit in the physicality of their poses. Delineated in sharp contours, with the woman's hair, lips and nipples rendered in jewel-like strokes of red pigment, Sitzender Frauenakt mit geneigtem Kopf und erhobenen Armen demonstrates the artist's skill as a draughtsman and his obsession with the sensuous quality of the human form. 

Discussing this pivotal early stage of the artist's career, Jane Kallir wrote: "Though the Expressionist breakthrough is heralded in some 1909 drawings, the speed and extremity of Schiele's development in 1910 are such that his work leaves all prior efforts far behind. There is no precedent for the radical, garishly twisted nudes that appear almost at the very start of the year" (J. Kallir, op. cit., p. 391). As in other works of this period, Schiele here used black crayon to produce a dark, striking contour.  In the present work, the focus of his attention is on the figure's head, her dreamy face enveloped in brightly colored hair, as well as on the sharply outlined, angular arms that stand in sharp contrast with the soft curve of the woman's body.