THE COLLECTION
Egon Schiele (Austrian, 1890–1918)
Girl with Black Hair (Mädchen mit schwarzem Haar)
- Date:
- 1911
- Medium:
- Gouache, watercolor, and pencil on paper
- Dimensions:
- 22 3/8 x 15 7/8" (56.8 x 40.3 cm)
- Paper:
- Wove.
- Credit Line:
- Gift of the Galerie St. Etienne, New York, in memory of Dr. Otto Kallir; promised gift of Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder; and purchase
- Reference:
- Kallir 858.
- MoMA Number:
- 607.1983
- Themes:
- Sex
- Techniques:
- Drawing
German Expressionism: The Graphic Impulse
March 27–July 11, 2011
Schiele, unable to afford professional models, often depicted very young, working-class girls or prostitutes in unashamedly sexual poses. The awkwardly contorted body language that he favored conveys an uncomfortably suppressed emotion. In drawing, unlike painting, Schiele typically treated his subjects in a sexually explicit way. Drawings such as this were in much demand from Schiele’s Viennese patrons.