Egon Schiele, his “Nudes” at Ca' Pesaro International Modern Art Gallery in Venice Italy

Feminine Nude Torso From 1911, Egon Schiele began to use watercolour for his nudes, an incredibly successful use that allowed him to enrich his work and shape it to give him even more relief.

Egon Schiele “Feminine Nude Torso”

Painting - Pencil and Watercolour on Paper - 1911 Ca' Pesaro International Modern Art Gallery in Venice Italy

All the body and skin's nuances are subtly highlighted in the “Feminine Nude Torso” of 1911, exhibited at the International Gallery of modern d'Art of Ca' Pesaro.

From this point of view, it is a real masterpiece.

In addition to the use of watercolour to make the skin alive, Egon Schiele created a contrast with colour to emphasize the naked body's contours, isolate it, “cut” it on the bottom to give it presence.

Feminine Nude Torso The left part of the body is underlined by a wide stripe of dark brown-ochre colour, and the same applies to the right side, which, in contrast, is delimited by a white line.

The lower body is also “cut” by the model's black stockings while a wide pink triangle spread between its thighs, giving an impression of movement or even agitation.

Here, the pencil line reinforces this bust's tortured appearance with angular contours, the only curves of the picture being those of the thighs.

Egon Schiele presented an eroticism that mixes Eros and Thanatos, showing the intensity of his emotions in front of sexuality.

We feel both attracted and uncomfortable, pushed back.

Egon Schiele “Nude”

Drawing - Pencil on Paper 1912 Ca' Pesaro International Modern Art Gallery in Venice Italy

Egon Schiele, Nude A drawing made one year after the watercolour of the “Feminine Nude Torso”.

Here no more watercolour.

The only pencil is used but in a very soothed way.

No more aggression, the only eroticism dominates.

This time the lines are curved, rounded.

They no longer emphasize the bone's edges of the female body; on the contrary, they emphasize its gentle voluptuousness thanks to these long and stretched lines.

Feminine Nude Torso

Egon Schiele, Nude