Egon Schiele (1890–1918) was the Austrian artist who took the term "raw emotion" and turned it into an art form, with a style so expressive it could practically punch you in the gut—albeit in the most visually stunning way possible. Known for his twisted, angular figures and exploration of human sexuality, Schiele wasn’t interested in making things pretty or polished. His work was about capturing the truth of human experience, in all its messy, complicated, and sometimes uncomfortable glory.

Schiele’s figures often look like they’ve been pulled and stretched into awkward, contorted shapes, but in those shapes, there’s a sense of vulnerability and intensity that you can’t help but feel. He had a knack for capturing the emotional undercurrent of his subjects—whether it was the raw sexuality of his nudes or the deep sense of isolation in his self-portraits. It’s almost like he was peeling back the surface to show what was really going on inside, and he didn’t shy away from making it intense. Intense in a way that made you think, "Okay, I need a minute after looking at that... but it’s really fascinating."

And while his work is often provocative, Schiele had a playful side too, particularly in his portraits of lovers and intimate moments. Despite the edgy, almost unsettling energy in his paintings, there’s also a sense of tenderness and even humor in some of his works—almost like he knew that life, in all its angst and complexity, could be both painful and oddly funny at the same time.