Original photolithograph halftone (1921) of Schiele's œvre "Akt” [1917]. Austrian Modernist and Expressionist painter Egon Schiele was well-known for his masterful draftsmanship and insight into the human condition. His work is noted for its intensity and for the many self-portraits the artist produced, including nude self-portraits.

Although Egon Schiele’s folio was published posthumously in 1921, there is evidence that, on the heels of his highly successful sold-out run numbering 400 copies with his 1917 Zeichnungen portfolio of monochromatic prints, Schiele was already planning a bigger and more elaborate follow-up upon his death in 1918.