Embrace
Embracing couples have been depicted by Klimt and Schiele repeatedly. Schiele thematized the act of embrace in various contexts such as Cardinal and Nun and Mother and Child. Here he dramatizes the act by adopting an arresting use of perspective. The couple appears front on, with only the top of the man’s head and his back visible. The truncated body and the lack of horizon line render ambiguous the context of the image. The media of watercolor and gouache exudes a touch of ephemerality, highlighting the impossibility of a permanent tight embrace.
Schiele adopts an arresting use of perspective. The couple appears front on, with only the top of the man’s head and his back visible.