Group at the edge of the wood
1920, oil on canvas, 169 x 158 cm,
Museum Leopold/Vienna

The most important work of his first period shows the artist with his wife Maria. He is dressed, she naked. The hue of her skin separates them by colour, while the strong brush-stroke unites them. Both meet the viewer's gaze directly, not unlike the situation in a photographer's studio. Two dogs lie at their feet.