Standing Male Nude with Raised Arms (Self-Portrait)

"Standing Male Nude with Raised Arms" belongs to a series of self-portraits drawn by Schiele in late 1911 and early 1912 (see also Kallir D. 956 and 1160-1163). As was typical of his work during this period, the artist used a very hard pencil for all these self-portraits (with the exception of Kallir D. 1160, executed in ink). Possibly Schiele’s choice of medium was influenced by his mentor, Gustav Klimt. In the work of both artists, hard pencil creates a very fine, delicate line – in Schiele’s case, a line more delicate than is seen in work from other periods. Viewed as a group, these 1911-12 self-portraits convey a variety of distinct personalities. Schiele was experimenting with different personae – in part to explore his own identity, and in part to map correlations between outward appearance and inner emotional states.
In late 1911, Schiele joined the Munich artists’ group "Sema", which asked him to create a lithograph for publication in its annual print portfolio. He submitted two self-portrait drawings in January 1912, one of which was rejected (Kallir G. 2), and one of which (Kallir G. 1) was included in the portfolio. All the aforementioned 1911-12 self-portrait drawings relate to these prints, and the one in ink (Kallir D. 1160) was probably done specifically with the lithograph in mind. However, the drawing series as a whole cannot properly be viewed as studies for the print. It is more likely that Schiele simply adapted a theme he had already been working on for that purpose. It is remarkable that the artist chose a full-frontal nude self-portrait as the subject for his first published lithograph.
Jane Kallir