Mother and Child

• Egon Schiele (1890–1918)
• 1912
• Oil on wood
• Leopold Museum, Vienna

This small work is reminiscent of religious paintings of the Virgin Mary and child Jesus. The mother and the child are rendered in pastose brushstrokes in front of a dark background. The mother is turned toward the child with a lowered gaze and a reserved expression, while the child is looking out with bright, wide-open eyes. The child’s hand that seem to be protruding from the darkness in the lower right corner symbolizes the dissonant relationship between the mother and her child.