Composition by Portrait of Three Men (Self-Portrait)

'Composition by Portrait of Three Men (Self-Portrait)' from 1911 in gouache demonstrates Schiele's obsessive return to his own image as artistic subject. Self-portraiture was central to Schiele's practice in a manner that had few precedents: between 1910 and 1912 he produced more self-portraits — paintings, watercolours, and drawings — than almost any other artist in European history at equivalent career stages. The triple-figure composition, in which Schiele appears multiple times, belongs to a tradition going back to Velázquez and Rubens of the artist depicting themselves from multiple angles in a single work, but Schiele deploys this format not for technical demonstration but psychological investigation. Each version of the self presents a different aspect or emotional state, the artist fragmented across the canvas like a multiple exposure. By 1911 Schiele had been profoundly influenced by the Vienna Secession, by Klimt's mentorship (now increasingly behind him), and by emerging German Expressionism. The gouache medium — opaque watercolour — allowed him to work rapidly and with great chromatic control, producing images of intense luminosity. Self-portrait in multiple guises also has a theatrical dimension: Schiele was interested in performance, in the way identity is constructed through pose and expression.

Gouache on paper, exploiting the medium's opacity to build flat areas of colour that resist naturalistic modelling. Schiele uses gouache's quick-drying properties to establish distinct colour zones with crisp edges. The chalky, matte surface quality of gouache complements his interest in depopulated, artificially intense flesh tones.