Egon Schiele. Seated nude woman 1912.
Egon Schiele’s nude rises like a sculpture from the paper; but instead of being chiseled out of stone, she is being shaped by pencil and brush.

The reference to sculpture, and more precisely to Rodin, is not a haphazard one. The latter’s sculptural work had been presented at the Secession and was therefore known by the younger generation. Especially Schiele perceived it as a revelation in his search for a new idea of human representation.

The present work dates from 1912, the year in which Wally Neuzil became his trusted companion. It is entirely possible that she was the model for the present drawing.