Revelation

• Egon Schiele (1890–1918)
• 1911
• Oil on canvas
• Leopold Museum, Vienna

Egon Schiele rarely commented about his works, but this painting offers an outstanding exception in the form of a letter.

“The Revelation! ... Have you ever felt the impact made by a great personality on their environment? ... All bodies have their own light which they consume throughout life; they burn up; they are unilluminated ... The person who is under his spell, enthralled by him, kneels, bows to the great man, who sees without having to open his eyes... astral light in such excessive measure that the prostrate figure merges with the great figure ... "