Egon Schiele was born on June 12 in 1890 in Austria. His father, Adolf Schiele, was the train master of the Tulin Station in the Austrian State Railways. As a child, Schiele loved trains, and he would spend a lot of time drawing them, much to his father's disappointment. When he was 11 year old, Schiele moved to Krems, Austria to go to secondary school. To others he was seen as a strange child; he was shy and reserved, didn't do well in most subjects others than athletics and drawing and was usually in classes with younger pupils. He also displayed incestuous tendencies towards his younger sister Gertrude. When he was 15 years old, his father died or syphilis and his uncle took care of him. Schiele's uncle was also a railway official, and despite his uncle wanted him to follow in his footsteps, he recognised Schiele's talent for drawing and half-heartedly allowed him a tutor. In 1906, Schiele applied for a School of Arts and Crafts in Vienna. That same year, he was sent to the more traditional Akademie de Bildenden Künste in Vienna. The teaching style of his teacher left Schiele and the other students frustrated and dissatisfied, causing him to leave three years later.
In 1907, Schiele was mentored by Gustav Klimt, who was very keen on his work and style. His first exhibition was held in Klosterneuburg in 1908. After leaving the Academy in 1909, Klimt invited him to exhibit his work at Vienna Kunstechau, along with the works of Edvard Munch, Jan Toorop, and Vincent van Gogh. At that time, he had begun to explore human sexuality as well as the human form, and many people found the explicitness of his works disturbing.
In 1911 Schiele met Walburga Neuzil (also known as Wally), who was seventeen years old. They lived together in Vienna and Wally served as a model for his paintings. After moving to and being driven out of Krumau, the two moved to Neulengbach where they found a studio in which Schiele could work in. The studio became very popular with the curious children of Neulengbach, however in April 1912' Schiele was arrested for seducing a young girl. While arresting him, the police found over one hundred drawings in his studio that they considered pornographic. In his trial, the charges of seduction and abduction were dropped, but he was found guilty of displaying suggestive drawings in a place accessible to children. He served up to twenty four days in prison.
Schiele met a woman name Edith Harms in 1914, and then married her in 1915. He presumed that his relationship with Wally would carry on, but after telling her she left immediately and was never seen again. This prompted him to paint 'Death and the Maiden'.
Three days after the wedding, Schiele was ordered to report for active service in the army due to the outbreak of World War I. He was stationed in Prague and Edith had to stay in a nearby hotel, where they were able to see each other occasionally. After a while, Schiele was given a job as a clerk in a POW camp near Mühling. Many of his exhibitions still went on while Schiele was in Prague in many different countries. Schiele's commander, Karl Moser knew of his artistic talents, so gave him a place where he could work, and he drew and painted imprisoned Russian officers. In 1917 Schiele and his wife moved back to Vienna and he focused again on his career in art. The prices of his works increased after an exhibition show in Vienna and he received many portrait assignments.
The Spanish flu outbreak reached Vienna in 1918, causing both Edith and Schiele to fall ill. Edith was six months pregnant when she died on 28th October. Schiele died from the disease three days later at 28 years old. During the three days after Edith's death, Schiele drew some sketches of her - these were his last works.
Analysis of 'Self Portrait with Arm Twisted Above Head' and 'Portrait of Edith Schiele in a Striped Dress'
Analysis of 'Self Portrait with Arm Twisted Above Head' and 'Portrait of Edith Schiele in a Striped Dress'
Egon Schiele
'Self Portrait with Arm Twisted Above Head' (1910)
Watercolour and charcoal
This painting shows Schiele with his right arm twisted around his head, his expression showing a grimace. The lines, tones, texture and colours all add up to the form of this piece. they all give it a 3D quality, making it more bold and eye-catching. The lines used in this piece give it shape and show the contouring of the body and face. The tones in this piece are very similar - there is not much of a contrast in colours other than in the hair which is the darkest tone. Also the hand is a lot darker than the rest of the body, creating a contrast. The main colours in this are brown and black. There are some hints of red in some places, and yellow undertones in the skin, as opposed to the background which has more pink undertones. The different lines and shapes created on the face and hand convey a more rough and edgy texture, whereas the lines on the body create a smoother texture.
The composition of this piece shows Schiele standing in the middle, covering most of the canvas, showing that he is the main focus of the piece. The curve of the back and the straightness of his left arm leads the viewer's eye in to the more detailed face and hands.
In many of Schiele's works he focuses on the hand and face. He changes the hands to make them distorted, accentuating the knuckles and bones, making them more prominent. Also the way he draws skin, particularly on the face, the shapes he uses are very noticeable - they stand out, making the skin look more edgy and old, showing meaning behind what is really there. This is different to what Schiele's mentor, Gustav Klimt's style was. Klimt created smooth and graceful contours in his pieces, where the skin was soft and elegant, however the lines Schiele used are very sharp and distinguishable.
I would like to use this style in my own work, especially in the hands, making the bones and knuckles more prominent and using similar tones to the ones that Schiele uses.
Egon Schiele
'Portrait of Edith Schiele in a Striped Dress' (1915)
Oil on canvas
This painting shows Schiele's wife, Edith, standing in an upright position with her arms by her side and her feet shoulder-width apart. She has her hair up and is wearing a long, colourful, striped dress. Due to the size of this piece (1.80m x 1.10m), Schiele was forced to paint his subject bigger so that the main focus of the piece is her. The direction of the stripes on the dress give the piece more of a 3D look because they show the folds and creases of the dress. Also the angles of the lines on the sleeves of her dress show the creases, giving it a more 3D effect. The tones of Edith's skin, sleeves and background are very similar to each other, with not much contrast of light and dark. Schiele used only a subtly darker colour to create the darker tones of her face and lighter parts of her dress. This contrasts to the more bold colours on the stripes of her dress, where he has used both primary and secondary colours. These colours are mainly darker than the skin and background, as well as more prominent, drawing the viewer's eye to the boldness of the dress.
The composition of this piece shows Edith standing in the middle of the canvas with a plain background, showing how she is the main focus of the piece. Also the direction of the lines on her dress show a downwards movement, therefore leading the viewer's eye to the middle of the dress where the belt is, as this is the point where the direction of the lines change, so the focus is mainly on her dress.
This piece is very different to many of Schiele's works, because the main focus is on what the subject is wearing, and not on the hands or face. The bold and vibrant colours in the dress contradict the dull, pale colours surrounding her creating a different mood in the painting altogether. Also the way she is standing perhaps suggests that she is isolated from her surroundings, and stuck in the world she is living in.
This is a style I would like to use I my own work because I like the use of contrasting vibrant colours with pale ones, as well as using lines to draw the viewer's eye onto where I want the focus of the piece to be.
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