“Self-Portrait with Raised Bared Shoulder” is an artwork created by Egon Schiele in 1912. The oil on canvas piece is a vivid representation of the artist’s form in the style of Expressionism. It measures 42.2 by 33.9 centimeters and falls under the genres of self-portrait and figurative. The artwork is part of the collection at the Leopold Museum located in Vienna, Austria, and exemplifies the intense emotional depth for which Schiele’s work is renowned.
The artwork showcases a bust of a figure, presumably Schiele himself, given that it is a self-portrait. The artist’s head is turned in a quarter profile revealing an intense gaze that captures the viewer’s attention. His shoulder is bare, and he is depicted with raw, sinewy lines that give a sense of vulnerability and exposure. The color palette is composed of earthy tones, rendering flesh with a variety of hues that give the artwork a visceral and almost anatomical examination of the human condition. With emotional candor, the Expressive brushstrokes and contrasting outlines create a tangible sense of tension and psychological exploration. This expressive technique is indicative of Schiele’s unique artistic voice within the Expressionist movement, which sought to convey subjective experiences rather than objective reality.
