Egon Schiele (1890-1918) - Eros (1911, Chalk, Gouache, Watercolor on paper, 55,9cm x 45,7cm, Private Collection)In Eros (1911), for instance, Schiele draws a self-portrait in which he is hunched over, looking ill, with his swollen, red penis taking up much of the frame. It is an intentional reference to his supposed degeneracy. The real decrepitude, he seems to say, is not in his art but in the world. Schiele’s works reflected his time, and to censor him is to ignore both history and the devious desires we all have. By putting these dark longings out in the open, Schiele helped zap them of their power.
