Self Portrait as St. Sebastian

I have always been and will always be very inspired by the work of Egon Schiele. Although I love very complex work and I am drawn to paintings, I am very connected to Schiele's charcoal sketches for many various reasons. His sketches are very simplistic in regards to excessive detail (there is no deep intricacy in the design, no color usage, no texture to fill in the spaces, no value, etc. The only elements that truly are present in the work are line, shape and space. When viewing this sketch, it is not the intricacy and detail that is the center of attention, but the form and how the lines are used to emphasize the form of the figure. Through lack of color and superior detail, the form of the figure becomes the main focus. Another interesting aspect about this piece itself it the title and the fact that Schiele chose to portray himself as St. Sebastian. In a nutshell, St. Sebastian was condemned to death and shot by his fellow soldiers with arrows for his belief in Jesus Christ. There could be complex reasoning regarding why Schiele chose to do this, but it is an interesting and abnormal (to me) concept of a self-portrait. Many self-portraits that are seen are traditional, or modernistic, with a typical front-face style portraiture. This piece is a bit darker, with the expression of the figure (Schiele) being emphasized through the form of the arms, and the arrows. The fine lines really draw me into the form and allow me to almost try to picture myself being in the same position as the character. Very intriguing. 

Image derived from:Schiele, Egon. Self Portrait as St. Sebastian. 1915. Charcoal Drawing. Egon Schiele (The Works)Web. 5 Sep 2013. <http://www.egon-schiele.net/Self-Portrait-As-St--Sebastian.html>.

Knowledgeable information obtained from: Sisters of Notre Dame, . "Saints Fabian and Sebastian."Loyola Press. (2009): n. page. Print. <http://www.loyolapress.com/saints-stories-for-kids.htm?cId=402584>.