The Family (Schiele)

The painting was initially entitled Crouching Couple (German: "Kauerndes Menschenpaar") and depicted the artist and a woman, both squatting naked with knees raised.

The figures are arranged in a solid pyramidal composition, with the woman on the floor gazing into space to her left with her arms by her sides.

Schiele's light duties in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War allowed him to continue painting and exhibiting.

Schiele was perhaps the leading painter in Vienna following the death of Gustav Klimt in February 1918 from a stroke followed by pneumonia caused by Spanish flu.

The painting was acquired by the Belvedere Gallery in 1948 from the Austrian artist Hans Böhler [de] during the time he was living in the US.