IndexWho is Egon Schiele?Portrait of Gerti SchieleDead Mother INfemale nudeSelf-portrait with PhysalisDeath and the girlEdith SchieleWho is Egon Schiele?Every generation has its punks. Whether musicians, writers, or artists, these ahead-of-their-time individuals – though infamous during their lifetimes – create legacies that last years after their deaths. The Austrian painter Egon Schiele is certainly one of these controversial and memorable personalities. Best identified as a 20th-century Expressionist painter, this short-lived artist's explicit female nudes, distinctive style, and controversial biography mark him as a brief but brilliant influence on the Expressionist movement. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay While his experimental self-portraits are certainly notable, Schiele is best known for his sexually provocative female nudes. A prolific artist, Schiele typically painted in gouache, oil, and watercolor. Many of his ink, pastel and pencil drawings also survive today. The artist worked on wood and paper and in multiple mediums, often painting over previously finished drawings. Most distinctive and celebrated of all, however, is Schiele's unique style, which can only be described as grotesque. His violent brushstrokes, elongated figures, and intentionally disorienting foreshortening make his work as distinct as it is horrific. Schiele was born on June 12, 1890 to Adolf Schiele and Marie Soukupova. Schiele's family lived in Tulln, Austria, where his father worked as a station master at the city's train station. The young artist was drawn to trains and drew them so obsessively that his father, at one point, felt compelled to destroy his sketchbooks (Davies, “A Legend Laid Bare”). Many of his brothers died tragically young; her mother not only had to deal with the death of her daughter at birth and her stillborn son, but also lost her eldest daughter, Elvira, at the age of ten to a childhood illness. Schiele still had two sisters; Melanie, older, and Gertrude, four years younger. Historians are mostly drawn to the artist's relationship with his younger sister, Gertrude, for whom he displayed incestuous tendencies (Lucie-Smith, Lives). "Gerti" was often the subject of many of Schiele's female nudes and is thought to have been his first model. Gerti would later marry Anton Peschka, a fellow painter and friend of Schiele (Steiner, Egon Schiele). When Schiele was fifteen, his father died of syphilis and he was placed in the care of his maternal uncle, Leopold Czihaczec. Recognizing his artistic talent, his uncle enrolled him in the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts (Kunstgewerbeschule) in 1906. This is the same school where Gustav Klimt - who would later take Schiele under his wing as his protégé - had graduated in 1883. Schiele, however, was transferred within the year to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts (Akademie der Bildenden Kunste) at the insistence of his teachers. Frustrated by the conservatism of his new school, Schiele left after three years and formed the "New Art Group" with like-minded students in 1909, writing a manifesto condemning the Academy's principles and exhibiting work independently at the Kunstsalon Pisko (Artbios). The studies are Schiele's private education with the famous Art Nouveau painter Gustav Klimt, known for mentoring promising artists. Schiele looked for it in 1907; Klimt, recognizing the young man's talent, took a particular interest in Schiele, exhibiting his work and providing models for his new student. Klimt was vital to the artistic growth ofSchiele, exposing the young painter not only to his own work, but also that of Van Gogh, Georges Minne, and Ferdinand Hodler (Artbios), whose influences can often be seen in Schiele's distinctive style. Free to ignore the stifling ideals of his past educators, Schiele began to more thoroughly explore death, sexuality, and the human form in explicit and often offensive detail. Schiele, now 21, met and fell in love with 17-year-old Valerie "Wally" Neuzil in 1911. Wally, who had originally posed for Klimt, quickly became the inspiration and subject of much of Schiele's paintings. Work. The young couple soon moved to Krumau, Bohemia, where Schiele's mother (Steiner, Egon Schiele) had grown up. Although the young couple's cohabitation was little controversial in Vienna, in the small city the two were condemned not only for their lifestyle, but also for Schiele's habit of using the city's young teenage girls as models, often out and about beautiful view (Davies, “A The Legend Laid Bare”). Schiele and Wally instead moved to Neulengbach, Austria, where the artist was able to open a studio in 1912. The couple's residence soon became a refuge for delinquent youths (Artbios). Neulengbach disapproved of Schiele's conduct as much as Krumau, pointing out his penchant for young girls (Steiner, Egon Schiele) and his exposure of explicit art to the city's youth. In April 1912, Schiele was accused of statutory rape, arrested, and put in prison for about a month (Davies, “A Legend Laid Bare”). At the time of his arrest, over a hundred drawings considered pornographic were seized and a magistrate even burned one (Lucie-Smith, Lives). Wally and Schiele returned to Vienna soon after the artist's death. publication. In 1914, the wealthy Harms family moved across the street; Schiele quickly fell in love with their two daughters, Edith and Adéle. Desiring a socially acceptable marriage, the artist decided to marry his younger sister Edith, despite his parents' disapproval. Although Edith demanded monogamy (Davies, “A Legend Laid Bare”), Schiele also intended to remain romantically involved with Wally. When Schiele described the situation to Wally, she immediately left him, never to be seen by the artist again. With World War I and Schiele's conscription imminent, Edith and Schiele rushed to marry in June 1915. Schiele reported for duty just four days later. their marriage, even though he never saw combat (Artbios). The artist was stationed in Prague guarding Russian prisoners of war and was able to continue painting and drawing as well as seeing Edith regularly. The two returned to Vienna in 1917, and although the First World War caused them little hardship, the Spanish flu would soon claim the lives of both. Edith, who was six months pregnant at the time, contracted the disease and died on October 28, 1918. Schiele completed a handful of sketches of Edith before dying three days later, on October 31, 1918, at the young age of 28. The controversial and tumultuous nature of Schiele's life can be seen in his work. Schiele's bizarre exaggeration of anatomy and sickly color choices are well matched by his expert use of line and composition, using imaginative new perspectives from which to paint his subjects to further expand the disconcerting atmosphere of his paintings. His enthusiastic experimentation with themes of death and sexuality, although condemned during his short life, makes his works a celebrated contribution to the history of art today. Schiele's avant-garde approach to art precedes similar principles of modern art. Its only distortionsof anatomy and the almost violent application of paint can be seen mirrored in the work of many Neo-Expressionist artists, such as Lubomir Tkacik and Francis Bacon, and the violent and unapologetic sexuality of his paintings is shared with 20th-century painters such as Jean-Contributions prolific and well-documented by Michel Basquait and Keith Harring. Schiele and his movement make it a cornerstone of 20th century expressionism. Short-lived as he was, the gritty sexuality and bold defiance of his work survives him, and while his work may have been controversial in its time, it is appreciated by artists, historians and aesthetes today. After all, we were all punks once. Portrait of Gerti SchieleThe artist's sister sits, her feet dangling in the air. She turns away from the viewer to smile to herself, eyes closed. There is no background, the empty, negative space around her forces her form to be the only focal point. Although the rendering is relatively flat, Schiele suggests planar changes with his deliberately line and color work. The unusual cropping of the image, together with its unnaturally golden tones, characterize it as a unique work of art. At this point, Schiele had been working closely with the famous Art Nouveau artist Gustav Klimt for about two years. The influence of Klimt's unique style is unmistakable. Schiele's flat rendering and elongated figure alone are comparable to the older artist's style. Having an even greater influence, however, are the distinct golden hues and intricate patterns that Schiele uses to adorn his subject. This is not to say that Schiele is directly copying Klimt's work; her mentor did not usually leave his figures floating in space as Schiele almost always did, and Gerti's clothes, although simplified into a few shapes, work with her body to accentuate the form. Klimt, in comparison, dwarfed his figures in brightly patterned clothing, often hiding everything but the face and hands. Schiele also uses a more subtle, silvery color scheme than his mentor's shimmering gold compositions. Schiele was incredibly close to his sister – many would say even too close. Gerti was not only one of his closest childhood friends, but was also his first model. We can clearly see Schiele's love for Gerti in this painting. She is depicted as a beautiful golden figure, slender and lovely. A shy, charming smile lights up his idealized face, despite Schiele's tendency to exaggerate his models' features to the point of caricature. There is nothing else in the composition because there is nothing else important for Schiele to render; the attention is placed exclusively on the figure positioned in the center. Here we see none of the grotesque exaggerations of anatomy for which Schiele became so famous. Instead, we see an undeniably adorable young woman, smiling to herself in a small, happy moment. Dead mother. Two distorted and disturbing figures wrap around each other in a canvas full of black, anonymous brushstrokes. A frail, corpse-like woman wraps her arms and rests her head on what can only be described as a lap, although, indescribably, it does not appear to be attached to her. He casts a listless glance toward the center of the canvas, where a fetal form swells and writhes from a too-narrow window of space. Two hands, apparently too large for the figure they must belong to, float near it with no indication of wrist or arm. The hideous figure almost appears to be smiling, almost but not quite staring at the viewer. The more violent brushstrokes and grossly exaggerated figures mark it as a statement pieceexpressionist. Gerti's delicate patterns and flat graphic rendering are nowhere to be found, and Klimt's influence on Schiele, while still visible through a similar distortion of form, has been set aside in favor of the exploration of individual style. Some might argue that the thickly applied paint may have been inspired by the work of Van Gogh, whose series of sunflowers Schiele had often painted tributes to. However, the short, almost pointillist way in which Van Gogh often used his colors was instead replaced with deliberately long, linear strokes. Dead Mother is full of meaning and deliberate choices. The fetus that Schiele portrays is, however hideous, very much alive. Unlike anything else in the composition, this central shape is painted in bright reds and oranges. You could almost see the blood flowing through his small body, contrasting with the greenish black tones achieved throughout the rest of the piece. The womb is surrounded by the mother on all my sides; she rests her head on top of him and looks at him, emotionlessly; a skeletal hand rises to support him from below, and she's thin shoulders and drab hair surround the fetus from left and right. What did Schiele intend to accomplish with this macabre work? He was certainly inspired by the many tragedies his family faced when it came to babies and children: his family lost a sister as a baby, another at birth, and his mother had even given birth to a baby boy at one point stillborn. While its inspiration is clear, what was the interpretation? Is the twisted fetus an innocent form trapped by a cold and unfeeling mother, or is it sucking the life out of her? He literally appears to have blood on his hands. Dead Mother I belongs to a series that Schiele worked on throughout his career, starting with the astonishing Madonna and Child of 1908. Schiele painted multiple disturbing images of young children or infants with their disturbing or disturbing attitudes. corpse-like mothers, with similar symbolism and themes. The personal meaning for Schiele must certainly have been of great importance. Mystery surrounds this grotesque and fascinating painting, and meaning can be found on a distinctly individual level. Like many of Schiele's pieces, this deeply personal work easily resonates with its audience, leaving it open to interpretation for years to come. Female nudeA woman lies reclining on her back, peering at us from an otherwise empty canvas. The cropping of the image is strange, deliberately cutting off the woman's legs and forcing a highly asymmetrical composition. Here Schiele did not even complete the figure. His legs are cut off at the thighs and he has no arms, only the implication of a shoulder and a single gnarled hand, resting delicately against his ribcage. This is not to say that the drawing is incomplete. Schiele focuses beautifully on the soft color and reflected light of his abdomen, showing his skill in drawing with deliberate black lines, and suggests weight and emphasis by changing the quality of the line. Highlight the figure with a bright white outline to distinguish it from the rest of the page. A great detail is how he follows the kinetic energy of the woman's hair, scattered around her, using short radial strokes with his white paint. This piece is typical of Schiele's female nudes. At this time the artist was still studying with Klimt, who often experimented with drawing figures in similar ways and most likely provided him with the model. Like most of his figure drawings, there is an overt sexuality in this piece. The woman is angled with an unusual perspective typical of Schiele. The pose forces himspectator to look up at her body, her legs slightly and suggestively apart, her hips opening towards us. Her body, especially her breasts, are flushed with heat and she stares confidently at her audience. There is an objectifying quality to the piece; Schiele portrayed only his torso in semi-realistic detail, choosing to greatly simplify his features and completely ignoring his limbs. While his interpretation of the female form is beautiful, one can't help but be reminded of a sculpted piece of flesh. This drawing could also be considered bland compared to Schiele's other female nudes, which often focused more explicitly on the genitals. While the eroticism in Schiele's work is certainly why he struggled against public outcry and censorship throughout his career, it's nice to see his themes come up again and again and to be able to group his works together in such limited categories . Self-Portrait with Physalis Schiele paints himself looking haughtily at the viewer, his head tilted above and away from us and his shoulders slightly angled. Behind him is a mostly abstract background, the orange plant on the left side imposes an even more asymmetrical composition. Swirling brushstrokes in various patches of pale gray fill the rest of the canvas, and its sparse, delicate outlines help bring the work's various forms together. Although Schiele was often incredibly deliberate with his brushstrokes, there is something particularly wonderful about the way he uses his paint here. The blotchy, muddy patches of color on his face are well balanced by the softer strokes of the background behind him. The angular, almost molded shapes that Schiele depicts in the color of his shirt help bring to life an otherwise shapeless and uninteresting form. If it weren't for his nudes, Schiele would surely be better known for his self-portraits. The artist depicted himself countless times and in different ways; sometimes as a graceful, swooping figure as in his Seated Male Nude of 1910; others like a madman, or with a comically pinched grimace. That said, Schiele's 1912 Self-Portrait assumes a pose and expression typical of the artist. What is not typical, however, is how complete the image is, including a full background and working with deliberately textured brushstrokes very different from Schiele's Self-Portrait of 1912. Empty spaces typically left around his figures. Even though he works across the entire canvas, however, the emptiness of space normally found in his drawings on paper is still found here, just the lanky form of the Physalis and the subtle swirls and tonal shifts in the gray paint breaking up the background. Schiele gives us a self-portrait that exudes confidence, practically strutting from within the canvas. He looks at the audience, essentially, through the nose, but somehow manages to maintain an air of curiosity. One can't help but compare the pose and expression to that of a modern selfie, especially when considering the youthful and curious vibe its likeness presents. As much as he was ahead of his time, perhaps Schiele could have adapted to today's media- and appearance-based culture. Death and the Maiden Although many of Schiele's paintings are haunting and tragic, few can compare to the scene depicted in Death and the Maiden. Two mud-painted figures writhe and twist towards each other in an embrace, almost weightless against the backdrop of white cloth. The two teeter dangerously on an abstractly painted cliff, perhaps already on the verge of falling off the edge. In fact, the perspective contained in this piece makes little sense; our subjects do not sit in a rational space.....