Girl with Black Hair (Mädchen mit schwarzem Haar)

Girl with Black Hair (Mädchen mit schwarzem Haar) by Egon Schiele, created in 1911, is a significant and characteristic example of the artist's emotionally intense portraiture from this pivotal year. The work is classified as a drawing, executed using a volatile and expressive combination of gouache, watercolor, and pencil on paper. This complex layering of media allowed Schiele to rapidly define form while simultaneously injecting psychological depth into the composition.

This piece reflects the peak of Schiele’s early Expressionist phase, characterized by his distinctive use of agitated lines and stark, often isolating compositions. The subject, an anonymous young woman rendered with highly stylized dark hair and a nervous yet direct gaze, embodies the emotional introspection typical of Viennese modernism. As an Austrian artist working amidst the cultural shifts following the Vienna Secession, Schiele frequently moved away from the decorative aesthetics of Art Nouveau toward a more raw and confrontational psychological realism. The combination of delicate, saturated watercolor washes contrasting sharply with firm, defining pencil contours emphasizes the subject's vulnerability and emotional tension.

The focus entirely on the figure’s head and shoulders amplifies the concentration on the subject’s inner life, distinguishing this portrait. The work demonstrates Schiele's technical command over mixed media, achieving both immediacy and profound emotional impact. This crucial drawing from 1911 is currently held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, where it serves as a cornerstone example of early 20th-century Austrian art. The enduring power of Schiele’s imagery means that, while the original artwork is protected, high-quality prints and studies based on works like Girl with Black Hair are widely accessible, often through collections dedicated to public domain resources.