Three Standing Women (Fragment)

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

Egon Schiele died from the spanish flu on October 31, 1918. He was working on this painting at the time, and it was left unfinished. All three women have different poses and facial expressions. The one on the left, turned to the side, seems resigned. The central figure gazes calmly at the viewer with wide eyes. The woman on the right, leaning against her, seems much more relaxed with her eyes closed. It is a superb example of the new painting style, characteristic of Schiele’s work from the last year of his life.