Nude Man with Raised Arms (recto) Seated Man (verso)

Nude Man with Raised Arms (recto) Seated Man (verso) is a powerful double-sided graphite drawing created by Egon Schiele in 1911. This work exemplifies Schiele's groundbreaking approach to the human figure during his brief, intense career in Vienna and the emerging movement of Austrian Expressionism. The recto presents a figure in a state of visible physical tension, characterized by the artist's stark, fragmented line quality.

Schiele rarely used graphite merely for preparatory sketches; instead, the medium here functions as an expressive tool, focusing intensely on the contour and internal psychological state of the subject. The recto figure, shown standing, explores themes of isolation and self-examination common in early 20th-century Austrian art. The raw, unidealized presentation of the figure became a hallmark of Schiele’s style, disrupting the traditional Academic norms of the body. The verso features a quieter study of a seated man, demonstrating the artist’s efficiency in utilizing the entire drawing surface. This economical use of the sheet is characteristic of Schiele’s output during this highly productive period.

The piece offers significant insight into Schiele's mature graphic style, preceding the artist's eventual move toward color in the mid-1910s. Works like this, drawn in Austria during a period of intense cultural upheaval, cemented Schiele's reputation as a pioneer of figurative drawing. Today, while the original drawing resides in the distinguished collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, many of Schiele’s early studies have entered the public domain, allowing institutions and individuals worldwide to study and disseminate these influential images as high-quality prints.