Egon Schiele (1890-1918) (after) - "The Hug, 1917"

- Egon Schiele (after), offset lithograph on heavyweight textured matte paper (approx. 300gsm, refers to paper thickness/density).

- Embossing stamp.

- Stamp on verso.

- Borderless / full-bleed.

- Ready to frame. The pic in which the item appears framed is a simulated recreation for illustrative purposes only, the frame and other decorative elements shown in it are not included in the lot you are bidding on.

- Size: 40 x 68,5 cm.

- Condition: excellent. Never framed, never exposed.

- Created during the final and most mature phase of Egon Schiele’s career, The Hug stands as one of the most powerful visual statements of emotional intimacy in early twentieth-century art. Created in 1917, when the artist had moved beyond the raw tension of his earlier Expressionist works toward a more volumetric and painterly language, the composition reveals two entwined bodies locked in an embrace that is at once tender, existential and profoundly modern. The tactile surface, the earthy palette and the sculptural treatment of flesh place Schiele in direct dialogue with Gustav Klimt, while the psychological intensity anticipates later explorations by Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud.

Unlike the decorative eroticism of the Viennese Secession, Schiele transforms the nude into a vehicle for emotional truth. The twisted anatomy, the angular contour and the expressive chromatic modelling create a dramatic tension between desire and vulnerability, echoing the existential sensibility that would later define artists such as Alberto Giacometti, Oskar Kokoschka and even the figurative reinventions of Pablo Picasso in his post-war period. The white drapery surrounding the couple functions almost as a stage, isolating the figures in a timeless space where gesture becomes narrative.

Executed in the final year before his premature death in 1918, this work embodies the culmination of Schiele’s search for a new humanism in modern painting. The increased solidity of the bodies and the calmer compositional structure distinguish this late production from his earlier, more nervous line, aligning him with the broader European evolution toward expressive figuration seen in Amedeo Modigliani, Chaïm Soutine and Edvard Munch.

The Hug holds a central place in the history of twentieth-century art. Its timeless theme of union and its radical formal language resonate strongly in contemporary interiors and curated collections, where it can be appreciated alongside works by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, David Hockney and Gerhard Richter, confirming Schiele’s enduring relevance within the international art market and the canon of modern masterpieces.