The artwork titled “Little Tree (Chestnut Tree at Lake Constance)” is a creation by Egon Schiele, a renowned artist of the Expressionist movement. Created in the year 1912, this piece is crafted with watercolor on paper. The dimensions of this work measure 45.8 cm in height and 29.5 cm in width. As a landscape genre painting, it is currently held in a private collection.
The artwork presents with an elongated vertical composition, highlighting the delicate form of a young chestnut tree set against a backdrop that features the gentle hues of Lake Constance. The tree, depicted with a degree of naturalism, possesses a slender trunk and sparse foliage, drawing attention to its isolation and the fragileness of its existence. Schiele’s use of color and line in this landscape reflect the expressive quality typical of his work within the broader Expressionist movement, conveying emotion and a subjective interpretation of nature. The background shows a simplified representation of a mountain range under a wide expanse of blank space, which likely signifies the sky. The hues and strokes used convey a sense of the atmosphere and the weather conditions possibly present at the time of its creation. The juxtaposition of the diminutive tree and the vast surrounding environment might also suggest themes of growth, solitude, or the relationship between man and nature, common in Schiele’s oeuvre.
