To set the tone for the upcoming year that commemorates the 100th anniversary of Egon Schiele’s death, the Viennese Albertina displays an exhibition of graphics by the artist, on show until 18 June, 2017. It comprises that attracts many viewers. Here is the photo review and impressions of the exhibition featuring some 160 gouaches, drawings and other exhibits.
Albertina offers a large-scale presentation from its own extensive holdings of Schiele’s works. The exhibition offers a unique overview of Shiele’s artistic oeuvre from the earliest works by a 16-year draughtsman and watercolorist to the latest pieces by the mature artist. Although, what do we mean when calling him "a mature artist"? Egon Shiele died at the age of 28 years. This age cannot be appropriated as a maturity. However, as an artist, he was certainly a mature one.
Egon Schiele, Brustbild eines rothaarigen Mädchens (Portrait of a Red-Haired Girl), 1910. Albertina Collections Online.
Egon Schiele, Nude
self-portrait, 1916. Albertina, Vienna
Erotic, frank drawings and paintings by Schiele are difficult to call sensual and languorous. The broken lines of hands and feet, faces-masks, dried naked bodies converse more about suffering and fragility of life than about love and sensuality. Even in Schiele’s landscapes, there is loneliness and deafening silence within deserted streets and fields.
Egon Schiele, Lying Half-Naked Woman, 1911. Albertina, Vienna
Egon Schiele, Drei Mädchen (Group of Three Girls), 1911. Albertina, Vienna
Exhibition view, Egon Schiele, 2017. Albertina, Vienna
The exhibition is organized magnificently — drawings and gouaches are accompanied by photographs of the artist and his relatives in different periods of his life.
Left: Egon Schiele as photographed by Anton Josef Trčka
Egon Schiele, Self-Portrait with Peacock Waistcoat, 1911. Ernst Ploil, Vienna
This photograph captured Egon Schiele and Wally Neuzil. She was a model of Klimt ("and, his mistress, apparently," as often added). Schiele reverenced the master. When young Egon asked his teacher if he had a talent, Klimt had looked through his drawings silently, and then answered, "Much, too much!" Klimt acquainted Schiele with the customers and bought his drawings himself. He also introduced models to Egon.
Egon Schiele, Mädchenakt (Nude
Girl) 1918/1919. Albertina, Vienna
Edith Schiele’s evening shoes, 1912.
Wiener Werkstätte, print design: "Osterglocken" (Easter Bells) 1910/12. Albertina, Vienna.
Wiener Werkstätte, print design: "Osterglocken" (Easter Bells) 1910/12. Albertina, Vienna.
Exhibition view, Egon Schiele, 2017. Albertina, Vienna
"For me, it was a surprise to see the drawings made by Schiele in prison, where he spent 24 days on charges of molesting a minor, as well as drawings made in Český Krumlov, where the Egon Schiele Art Centrum is now open," one of the visitors says.
Exhibition view, Egon Schiele, 2017. Albertina, Vienna
Egon Schiele, Old Houses in Krumau, 1914. Albertina, Vienna.
By all rights, after the death of Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele was recognized as the Austrian artist number one. An excellent poster
of the Viennese "Secession" executed by the artist, and a photograph of Schiele in military uniform during his service are on display in the last rooms.
Egon Schiele, Albert Berger, Plakat der 49. Ausstellung der Secession (Poster
for the 49th Exhibition of the Vienna Secession), 1918. Albertina, Vienna
The artist’s last words were, "The war is over — and I must go."
