The artwork entitled “Portrait of Eduard Kosmack with Raised Left Hand” is an expressionist portrait executed in watercolor on paper by the artist Egon Schiele in 1910. The portrait originates from Czech Republic and captures the essence of the Expressionist movement, which Schiele was a part of. It is a genre piece that currently resides in a private collection.
The portrait shows a figure dramatically set against a plain background, with the subject’s left hand raised in a distinctive gesture. Schiele’s technique involves bold, direct brushstrokes that emphasize the emotional state of the sitter, Eduard Kosmack. The artwork is characterized by the vivid and stark delineation of the figure and the use of negative space that allows the subject to stand out. The color palette is relatively muted, with earthy tones dominating the composition. Sharp contrasts and the rough contours of the figure are indicative of the artist’s expressionist style. With an intense gaze, the subject of the portrait appears both engaging and disconnected, a duality that Schiele often explored through his art. The piece embodies the expressionist objective of representing subjective experience and emotional reality, rather than physical and objective reality.
