“The Brother” is an artwork created by Egon Schiele in 1911. This piece is executed in watercolor on paper, embodying the tenets of Expressionism, an art movement that emphasizes the expression of emotional experience over physical reality. The artwork is a portrait and, as of the last available information, resides within a private collection.
The artwork showcases two figures with a striking interplay of color and emotion, typical of Schiele’s distinctive style. The subjects are set against a muted backdrop that serves to accentuate their forms. On the left, there is a depiction of a female figure with red hair and pale skin, her facial features rendered with a sense of both delicacy and intensity. Her eyes are wide and her lips are a subtle shade of pink. Beside her, almost as a shadow or an extension of the first figure, is another figure—the “brother”—who appears to have his head resting against the first figure or possibly looking downward with a closed or downcast expression.
Schiele’s use of watercolor gives the portrait a dynamic quality, with the colors bleeding into each other, creating a sense of movement and fluidity. The figures are portrayed with contorted, angular lines, which is emblematic of the Expressionist movement’s fascination with the raw and exaggerated human form. This artwork, like many of Schiele’s, conveys a powerful emotional resonance, inviting an introspective reaction from the viewer.
