Sorrow (Kümmernis) from The Graphic Work of Egon Schiele (Das Graphische Werk von Egon Schiele)

Sorrow (Kümmernis) from The Graphic Work of Egon Schiele (Das Graphische Werk von Egon Schiele) is a profoundly affecting print created by Egon Schiele in 1914 and later issued as part of a significant published portfolio in 1922. The image encapsulates the psychological intensity and raw emotional vulnerability that defined the artist's mature period immediately preceding the First World War.

This work was executed using the precise and unforgiving drypoint technique, an intaglio process where Schiele scratched directly into the copper plate. The resulting burr holds the ink, producing the characteristic soft, dense black lines that emphasize the figure’s anguish and isolation. Schiele masterfully uses the medium to amplify the sense of distress, rendering the human form in a state of deep emotional contortion, typical of the Expressionist movement taking hold in Austrian culture.

Sorrow was one of six drypoints included in the eight-piece portfolio, Das Graphische Werk von Egon Schiele. Though the creative impulse belongs to 1914, the portfolio's publication in 1922 cemented Schiele's legacy posthumously, providing wider access to these powerful prints. The piece serves as a critical document of the era's preoccupation with existential anxiety and the fragility of the inner self.

As a key example of graphic media from the period, this print demonstrates Schiele’s innovative approach to portraiture, where the sitter becomes a vehicle for intense psychological exploration. The inclusion of Sorrow (Kümmernis) in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) highlights its lasting importance in the history of modern art and printmaking.