Sheet with Compositional Drafts and the Signet of the Neukunstgruppe, undated

The drawings that have survived in Egon Schiele’s (1890–1918) sketchbooks not only illustrate his creative process but also indicate the many paintings that remained unexecuted and did not make the transition from sketch to artwork. This page from a sketchbook shows several compositional drafts which cannot be clearly assigned to a finished painting. What is striking is that the sketches mostly depict large groups of figures, none of which can be found in Schiele’s painterly oeuvre. The composition in the upper right corner, as well as the one underneath, might show the bearing of the cross, with Christ having just fallen down under the weight of the cross. All the way on the left, next to the signet of the Neukunstgruppe, we see a figure which seems to bend over a seated person, with a larger group standing together in the background.

LVD, 2024