Standing Nude with a Patterned Robe

Standing Nude with a Patterned Robe is a powerful drawing created by Egon Schiele in 1917. This late-period work exemplifies Schiele's mastery of combined media, utilizing opaque watercolor and charcoal on wove paper to achieve both defined structure and fluid fields of color. The medium of charcoal provides the nervous, angular contours characteristic of the artist's style, while the opaque watercolor allows for dense application, particularly in the richly patterned fabric.

Schiele, a central figure in early 20th-century Austrian art, created this piece during a pivotal moment near the close of World War I. The drawing focuses on a standing figure whose highly expressive pose conveys both vulnerability and defiance, typical of the artist’s intensely probing psychological studies. While the figure is nude, Schiele contrasts the exposed skin and internal emotional state with a highly detailed, brilliantly colored patterned robe, which is either being held or partially draped around the model.

This juxtaposition of raw physicality and decorative detail highlights the continued, if transformed, influence of Gustav Klimt's Secessionist aesthetics filtered through Schiele’s unique and more overtly Expressionistic lens. The intense gaze and elongated, exposed form are signatures of the mature work Schiele produced in the period spanning 1901 to 1925.

This particular drawing is held within the esteemed collection of the National Gallery of Art, where it serves as a crucial example of the Austrian Expressionist movement. Due to the historical significance and the artist's enduring popularity, high-quality prints of this image are widely sought after by collectors and students. While this specific piece remains under museum ownership, many of Schiele’s earlier graphic works are now entering the public domain, increasing the accessibility of reference materials for studying his distinctive visual language.