Standing Nude with Orange Drapery (recto): Study of Nude with Arms Raised (verso)

Egon Schiele’s Standing Nude with Orange Drapery (recto): Study of Nude with Arms Raised (verso), created in 1914, is a potent example of the artist’s intense engagement with the human form immediately prior to World War I. Executed using watercolor, opaque watercolor, and graphite on paper, the recto side features a solitary female nude, rendered in the characteristic angular, linear style for which Schiele is renowned. The figure confronts the viewer directly, her attenuated posture heightened by the inclusion of vivid orange drapery, a rare splash of color that contrasts sharply with the figure’s raw vulnerability.

Classified as a drawing, this piece showcases Schiele’s economical and psychological draftsmanship. The graphite lines define the contours with rapid energy, while the watercolor washes add ephemeral volume. The double-sided nature reveals the artist's working process; the verso, titled Study of Nude with Arms Raised, focuses purely on anatomical investigation and expressive gesture. Schiele, working in Vienna, used these studies of female nudes not for classical idealization, but to explore deeply personal and sometimes disturbing psychological states common in early Austrian Expressionism.

Dating from his mature period, this work demonstrates Schiele’s dedication to unflinching representations of women. The tension inherent in the pose and the subject matter exemplifies the intellectual anxiety that characterized the Viennese cultural scene of the period. This exceptional drawing is housed in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it serves as a crucial document of 20th-century draftsmanship. Due to its significance, high-quality prints and reproductions of the work are frequently available to enable broader study and appreciation of Schiele’s enduring influence.