Dancer (Die Tänzerin)

Egon Schiele

National Gallery of Art

This is a painting of a woman with most of her body covered in draped fabric. She is positioned with her head resting gently on her right shoulder and her right arm bent across her body while her left arm dangles down. Her facial features are delicate, with closed or downturned eyes, a small nose, and thin red lips. She has short orange-brown hair adorned with a red headband or bandana. Everything below her arms appears to be covered with fabric that falls loosely over her form, and her legs are not visible. Her pose is ambiguous; she may be sitting with her knees to her chest with the fabric draping over them, or she may be standing and the artist didn't paint her legs. There are small hints of blue paint in some areas of the fabric. The background is a plain, off-white color.