
Public Domain
by Egon Schiele
Egon Schiele painted the Portrait of Leopold Czihaczek (Head of a Bearded Man I) in 1907, an oil on cardboard study of his uncle's face. The work focuses on Czihaczek's bearded features, capturing the railway official who served as Schiele's guardian during his Vienna art studies.
This head study is one of several portraits Schiele made of his uncle between 1906 and 1909. The "I" in the title suggests at least one additional head study exists. Working on cardboard rather than canvas indicates this may have been a quick study, perhaps made to capture a particular expression or lighting condition. The Impressionist brushwork shows Schiele still absorbing influences before developing his distinctive style.
Czihaczek's brown beard dominates the composition. Within three years, Schiele would move toward the angular distortions and psychological intensity of Expressionism. This early portrait remains in a private collection.
Other masterpieces from the Expressionism movement

Edvard Munch, 1886
National Gallery of Norway, Oslo

Edvard Munch, 1894
Munch Museum, Oslo

Edvard Munch, 1893
National Gallery of Norway, Oslo

Edvard Munch, 1894
Munch Museum, Oslo

Pablo Picasso, 1937
Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid

Franz Marc, 1911
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis

Franz Marc, 1913
Alte Pinakothek, Munich

Amedeo Modigliani, 1917
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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