Der Jüngling (The Young Man)

"Everyone can have physical perceptions, but since for me they are reality I paint them."
Maria Lassnig's work, based on awareness and experience of the body, is reminiscent of the Austrian pictorial heritage of the 20th century, particularly that of Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka. A fundamentally committed artist, she depicts pathos and violence in introspective paintings and drawings combining strength and fragility. Der Jüngling (The Young Man) is a disguised and resolutely theatrical self-portrait. A man appears to emerge from the canvas, his torso is broad as if to highlight his momentum. The dramatic approach is accentuated by the elliptical style and strong colours.