The artwork “Triple Self Portrait” by Egon Schiele, created in 1913 in Vienna, Austria, is an expressive piece crafted with watercolor on paper. This work falls under the genre of a self-portrait, which is coherent with the artist’s reputation for introspective and raw depictions of the self. Egon Schiele was a prominent artist of the Expressionism movement, and his pieces are known for their intensity and emotional depth. Although this particular self-portrait is housed within a private collection, its artistic significance is publicly recognized and celebrated.
The artwork displays a striking composition, where three renderings of Schiele’s face overlap and intermingle upon the paper, creating a multifaceted representation of the self. The most pronounced profile, central in the composition, gazes outwards with a penetrating stare, while the others seem to fade into the background, indicative of the ephemeral nature of identity or perhaps the various facets of the artist’s persona. Schiele’s typical use of contorted lines and exaggerated features is evident, lending the work an unsettled, almost disquieting energy. Splashes of color are sparse, with a mysterious blue patch at the bottom of the portrait drawing particular intrigue within the predominantly monochromatic palette. The rawness of the lines and the lack of complete form suggest a sense of immediacy and the unfettered flow of the artist’s expression—a hallmark of Schiele’s relentless self-scrutiny and the broader existential enquiries of Expressionism.
