Self-Portrait with Chinese Lantern Plant

A thin, hollow-cheeked man stares out with large, intense eyes, his dark clothing contrasting against a pale backdrop. Beside him rises a plant with red and yellow blossoms, its bright color standing apart from the muted tones of his figure and the background. This self-portrait was painted in 1912 in oil and is held today at the Leopold Museum. Egon Schiele (1890–1918) was an Austrian artist associated with Expressionism, whose other works include Seated Woman with Bent Knees. One detail worth noticing is how the flowering plant seems to press close to the man's shoulder, its vivid petals pulling attention away from his gaunt, shadowed face and toward the sharp interplay of color and emptiness surrounding him.