Egon Schiele
(Austria : 1890 - 1918)
Home - Range - Focus
A contemporary of Gustav Klimt whom he greatly admired and of Oskar Kokoschka, Egon Schiele is regarded as one of the most important Austrian artists of the modern era. A provocative and defiant young man, he is remembered for his expressionist portraits and his erotic drawings.
Egon Schiele was born in Tulln, Austria in 1890. Very early, he showed a precocious talent in drawing. Despite a precarious financial situation following family problems, the talented young artist managed to join the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in 1906 after successfully passing the entrance exam. Shortly after in 1907, he was to meet Gustav Klimt with whom he retained a close friendship.
Right : Gerti Schiele, in a plaid garment (1908-09)
In this drawing of his younger sister Gertrude, Egon Schiele pays homage to his friend Gustav Klimt by his use of an ornamental, two dimensional style. However, the angularity of the contours, the long emaciated body, and certainly the position of the hands announce the expressiveness that will characterize his later output.
In 1909, rebelling against the conservatism of his teachers, Egon Schiele left the Vienna Academy to found, with several of his fellow student artists, the New Art Group. A succession of exhibitions followed. Although they did not help solve his financial predicament, these art shows sparked growing interest in his work and, as he gained recognition, Egon Schiele gradually started to draw the attention of important collectors.

An exceptional draftsman, much of Egon Schiele's work was realised in pencil, gouache or watercolour. And much of this work was constituted by erotically charged drawings of nude or semi-nude models, as illustrated below.

Left : Schiele, drawing a nude model before a mirror (1910)
During his short life time, Egon Schiele produced an impressive number of self-portraits. Here the artist is seen sketching a model in front of the huge mirror he had set up in his studio. The model has her back to us ; we see her reflexion and that of the artist in the mirror.

Right : Female Nude (1910)
In this drawing, as well as in the one below, the artist uses a thick white contour to highlight a virtually limbless torso. This white highlighting,

which accentuates the impact of the picture, recurs in various works on paper produced during this period.
Also note the absence of spatial reference which was to become common to many of Egon Schiele's drawings. The model seems extracted from the immediate studio surroundings. The focus is drawn on the emaciated torsos of the young models, all else is irrelevant to the mood of the picture.
Right : Recumbent semi nude woman (1911)
The contentious nature of some of Egon Schiele's work soon attracted the ire of the conservative Austrian establishment. In 1912, his use of adolescent young girls as models and the erotic character of his work led him to be briefly imprisoned for pornography and corruption of a minor.
Female nude on a colourful blanket
(1911) 		Nu assis
(1910) 		Nude girl with folded arms
(1910) 		Kneeling young woman with a Spanish dress
(1910)
Left :
Seated girl with bare torso and light blue skirt (1911)
These two works are typical, in the way they also show the models cut out of their studio surroundings. Here too, bodies are drawn with angular lines, and appear almost two-dimensional. Egon Schiele used with great effect brightly coloured textiles which contrasted with the subdued tones of the flesh or the stark lines of the bodies.
Right :
Reclining semi-nude (1911)
Bent nude
(1912) 		Man and woman
(1913) 		Sitting nude with blue headband
(1912) 		Nude girl with long braid
(1913)
By 1914, Egon Schiele's reputation had become well established. He was now taking part in many exhibitions at home and across Europe : Germany where he was widely exhibited, but also France, Italy, Belgium.
After living together with his friend and model, Wally Neuzil, since 1911, Egon Schiele decided in 1915 to abandon his companion to marry Edith Harms, a girl from a good bourgeois family who happened to live across the street from his studio.
By that time Europe was at war and Egon Schiele, like many other Austrian artists and intellectuals, was spared the horrors of the battle on the front lines and instead was assigned clerical tasks near Vienna.
Left : The Virgin (1913)
 
Reclining semi nude with black stockings (1913) Frauenakt nach rechts
(1914) 		Reclining male and female nude entwined (1913)
Zwei madchen, einander umarmend (1915) Female nude lying on the stomach with loose red hair (1917) Two girls lying entwined (1915)
  Left : Female nude with yellow cape (1914)

Gradually Egon Schiele started to introduce a third dimension to his nude drawings by adding some elements of shading. His nudes lost some of their caricatural aspects. Dabs of bright green or red paint helped add some volume to the bodies and soften their angular contours. During this period, his nudes gained a more plastic, almost classical look.
Above : Blondes Madchen mit grunen Strumpfen (1914)
Below : Embrace (1917)
In composing his drawings or paintings, Egon Schiele often favored the bird's eye view which led him to adopt some unusual perspectives. He would use a ladder in his studio from which he would sketch his models below, from various angles. This approach to composition is illustrated here with "Two girls, lying entwined"" (above right) and "Embrace" (right) where two lovers in their embrace are seen from above, their facial traits hidden from the viewer.
Nu a la pantoufle a carreaux (1917) Kauernder Madchenakt, die Wange auf das rechte Knie (1917) Kneeling semi-nude
(1917) 		Nu feminin aux bas bleus
(1914)
Egon Schiele also experimented with the use of geometrical compositions in his work and in particular the triangular shape which is found in many of his pictures. Below, the position of the model's legs on the left is a fine example of this, as is that of the model's right arm below right .
Left :
Reclining woman (1917)

Right :
Kneeling female semi-Nude (1917)
This is a portrait of Adele
(Edith's sister) who also modelled for Egon Schiele.
The late drawings below have lost the caricatural manner which distinguished Egon Schiele's earlier work. Gone is the angularity that was so characteristic of his early expressionist portraits. The artist has visibly mellowed as his talent gradually gains a wider appeal with his contemporaries. By 1917, following the death of his friend Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele had become Austria's leading artist.
Above : Nude Lying (1918)

Right: Seated woman (1917)
Left : Untitled (1918)
In 1917, Egon Schiele was given further recognition when a portrait of his wife, Edith, was acquired by the Vienna Moderne Galerie (which was to become the official state art gallery). However, in October 1918, just when artistic and financial success was finally knocking on his door, Egon Schiele, aged 28 and his expectant wife, both succombed to the epidemic of Spanish influenza which ravaged Europe at the time. After the recent loss of Gustav Klimt, the untimely death of Egon Schiele deprived Austria of another of its major artitistic talents.
Nude female crouching with shoes (1917) Die Familie (1918) Femme nue
(1918)

The origin of the cards and the publishers :
Gerti Schiele in a plaid garment (1908-09) The Minneapolis Institute of Art
        - CP. 1596, Nouvelles Images SA, Lombreuil
Schiele, drawing a nude model before a mirror (1910) Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna
        - 3628, Pomegranate, Rohnert Park, CA
Nude girl with folded arms (1910) Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna
        - 1 - Egon Schiele A.K.T.E 12 Kunstkarten, verlag Christian Brandstatter
Female nude (1910) Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna
        - LA 971, Kunsthandel und Edition Luka Basic, Wien
Kneeling young girl with a Spanish dress (1910) Private collection
        - CP1836, Nouvelles Images, Lombreuil
Nu assis (1910) Private collection
        - 2020/3119, Nuova Artigrafiche Ricordi
Young woman lying semi-nude (1911) Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna
        - Nr. 502, Verlag Galerie Welz Salzburg
Female nude on a colourful blanket (1911) Neue Galerie am LandesMuseum Joanneum, Graz
        - BSB Publishing, The Hague (Book of 30 postcards)
Seated girl with bare torso and light blue skirt (1911) Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague
        - CP. 1607, Nouvelles Images SA, Lombreuil
Liegender Halbakt (1911) Private collection
        - 1993, Serge Sabarsky
Weiblicher Akt auf bunter Decke (1911) Private Collection
        - LA 972, Kunsthandel und Edition Luka Basic, Wien
Bent nude (1912) Private collection
        - BSB Publishing, The Hague (Book of 30 postcards)
Sitting nude with blue headband (1912) Private collection
        - 1483, Editions Hazan, Paris
Reclining male and female nudes entwined (1913) Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna
        - 4 - Egon Schiele A.K.T.E 12 Kunstkarten, verlag Christian Brandstatter
Reclining semi nude with black stockings (1913) Private collection
        - Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
The Virgin (1913) Graphische Sammlung der ETH, Zurich
        - Nr. 311, Verlag Galerie Welz Salzburg
Man and woman (1913) Private collection
        - BSB Publishing, The Hague (Book of 30 postcards)
Nude girl with long braid (1913) Private collection
        - LA 970, Kunsthandel und Edition Luka Basic, Wien
Female nude with yellow cape (1914) Private collection
        - Nr. 312, Verlag Galerie Welz Salzburg
Blondes Madchen mit grunen Strumpfen (1914) Private collection
        - 2741, Nuova Artigrafiche Ricordi, Milano
Nue feminin aux bas bleus (1914) Albertina, Wien
        - Fondation Dina Vierny- Musee Maillol, Paris
Frauenakt nach rechts (1914) Private Collection
        - Nr. 340, Verlag Galerie Welz Salzburg
Two girls, lying entwined (1915) Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna
        - Nr. 342, Verlag Galerie Welz Salzburg
Zwei Madchen, einander umarmend (1915) Private Collection
        - LA 968, Kunsthandel und Edition Luka Basic, Wien
Reclining woman (1917) Sammlung Rudolf Leopold, Vienna
        - LA 969, Kunsthandel und Edition Luka Basic, Wien
Kneeling female semi-nude (Nach links gewendeter Frauenakt) (1917) Private collection
        - Nr. 362, Verlag Galerie Welz Salzburg
Embrace (1917) Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna
        - 3515, Pomegranate, Petaluma, CA
Seated woman (1917) Private collection
        - 2535, Editions Hazan, Paris
Nu a la pantoufle a carreaux (1917) Kunsthaus, Zug
        - Fondation Dina Vierny- Musee Maillol, Paris
Kniender Halbakt (1917) Private collection
        - 1993, Serge Sabarsky
Kauernder Madchenakt, die Wange auf das rechte Knie gelehnt (1917) Private Collection
        - 2740, Nuova Artigrafiche Ricordi, Milano
Am Bauch liegender weiblicher Akt mit offenem roten Haar (1917) Albertina, Vienna
        - 31.452 Mi 145, Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna
Nude female crouching with shoes (1917?) Albertina, Vienna
        - 2547, Editions Hazan, Paris
Nude lying (1918) Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum, Graz
        - 1724, Editions Hazan, Paris
Untitled (1918) Coll. Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague
        - A 5625, Art Unlimited, Amsterdam
Die Familie (1918) Osterreichische Galerie, Wien
        - Nr. 507, Verlag Galerie Welz Salzburg
Femme nue (1918)
        - EG04, Editions du Desastre, Paris

PS: I would like to add to my collection of nudes by Schiele. if you happen to have cards that I am missing, I'd be delighted to set up a trade...

Bibliography :
Schiele by Wolfgang Georg Fischer
   Copyright : 1998, Benedikt Taschen Verlag GmbH, Koln, Germany
Egon Schiele - Eros and Passion by Klaus Albrecht Schroder
   Copyright : 1995, Prestel Verlag, Munich, Germany
 

Home - Range - Focus - Top