Leopold Czihaczek at the Piano

• Egon Schiele (1890–1918)
• 1907
• Oil on canvas
• Private Collection

Egon Schiele lost his father to syphilis at the age of fifteen and was taken in by his uncle, Leopold Czihaczek, the man playing the piano in this painting. Schiele created a contrast between the bright window panes and the dark shadows, and the horizontal canvas gives a dramatic effect. The brushstrokes all mimic the rays of sunshine, moving toward the lower right corner and draw attention to Czihaczek’s hands. Schiele rendered the hands in a deliberately blurry manner to emphasize the piano player’s rhythmic movements.