Female Nude with Raised Forearms

• Egon Schiele (1890–1918)
• 1910
• Black chalk on paper
• Leopold Museum, Vienna

This drawing is seemingly a spontaneous sketch of a woman’s head, hands, and body, but Schiele has intentionally emphasized only what was important for him; the chin is omitted so as not to disturb the diagonals of the forearms. Schiele’s earlier works were decorative, but his works of this period show focus on structures of the human body. The outlines of the arms and torso reflect more concern for balanced composition than anatomical realities.