Egon's Kiss

Cardinal and Nun (Caress) (1912)

by Egon Schiele
Leopold Museum, Vienna

Gustav Klimt was a well renowned “Art Nouveau” artist working in Germany during the early 1900’s.  Upon seeing the work of Gustav Klimt from an exhibition in 1907, Schiele started to mimic the artists’ style and techniques. The relationship between the two artists however, has been overly romanticized from multiple biographies, and mixed sources. Schiele studied Klimt’s work and produced many works of art mimicking the artist until a style of his own was established. One of the conflicting techniques that Schiele uses, that differs from Klimt, from his portraiture work is the absence of an ornate background. Instead, the figure is forced to front of the picture plane, void from any background information and left vulnerable. The piece Cardinal and Nun and clearly a take on Klimt’s Kiss. Many differences can be noticed within Schiele’s Cardinal and Nun. Just as mentioned earlier, the ornate background was exchanged for a solid black hue lacking of any formal information. An obvious difference between the two is the expression on the nun’s face compared to the woman portrayed in Kiss. In Schiele’s work, the woman is not accepting of the embrace, and has a look of fear or horror. Unlike Klimt’s Kiss, the embrace itself is portrayed as unwanted as well. Hands from both figures are now awkwardly placed on one another. While the sexual tension of Schiele’s work is generally more forward and literally centered on the canvas, Cardinal and Nun seems to come off as a calmer, yet darker, sense of sexual exploration.   

Photo & Information Credit

Kallir, Jane. Egon Scheile – Drawings and Watercolors. New York: Thames & Hudson Inc., 2003.

Egon Schiele, Cardinal and Nun (Caress)” Masterpieces of the Collection The Leopold Collection Leopold Museum <http://www.leopoldmuseum.org/en/leopoldcollection/masterpieces/34 > (April 28, 2016)

Scheile's Desires

Black Haired Nude Girl, Standing (1910)

by Egon Schiele

Graphische Sammlung
Albertina, Vienna

Sex Sales! Unfortunately the rule is true, and we all know this, and Egon Schiele was no exception to the rule. While majority of his work was created for his own satisfaction and viewing pleasure, a number of his pieces that were erotic, or even considered pornographic were made to sale.  Women have been seen as sexual objects for centuries, and the depictions of women in artwork go hand in hand.  Schiele studied the female form in various ways and forms. Some of his depictions of the nude female figure were made to be references the female genitalia just from composition alone. Other erotic figure studies simply displayed the women’s body with legs spread open provoking the viewer with an overly red genitalia that was also spread by the inviting figure, and breast bare heighted with red areolas. Schiele was also interested in the young female form. Against society’s moral perspective, Schiele did various figure studies whose subject matter consisted of noticeably younger girls that were generally underfed and bared the face of sorrow. By doing so, the viewer is obviously forced to deal with the tension of the piece itself, but also the tension between the girl and Schiele cannot be avoided. This allows us as viewers to peek into Schiele’s head and to get a glimpse at his psyche through the girl’s expression within the piece. Which is really exciting when you overlook the creepiness factor and think about it. Here is an Austrian expressionist who was not only capable of sharing and expressing his thoughts, but also expressing the thoughts of his figures.

Photo & Information Credit

“Egon Schiele Black Haired Nude Girl Standing” The Complete Work http://www.egon-schiele.net/Standing-nude-young-girl-2-large.html (April 23, 2016)

Short, Chris. Scheile. New York: Phaidon Press Limited., 1997.

Schiele's References

Nude Self Portrait (1910)

by Egon Schiele

Leopold Museum

Egon Schiele was an artist that wanted to experience everything in life, either inside or outside his field of artistic views. He was able to that properly by modeling and portraying himself through his own artworks while addressing deeper issues. In the piece Nude Self-Portrait, Schiele depicts himself as the central subject of the Gouache, watercolor, and black crayon study. The depiction of the figure is that of an unhealthy human form whose bones protrude through tight skin and has the sunken face of a former (or current) drug abuser, much like the before and after shots of meth users. What is more interesting about this piece rather, is the composition. Schiele is well known for his work provoking a sort of sexual tension and addressing that in various ways. One of the ways he addresses this is by the composition he chooses, and by arranging the models in certain ways. In his Nude Self-Portrait, it is pretty clear what the intentions of the composition was, and that being a very phallic Schiele. This type of composition is repeated throughout his career, with his self-portraits and others alike. Another example of this, but on the other end of the spectrum, Schiele’s piece Reclining Female Nude on Red Drape depicts another figure placed within a provocative stance. In this piece, it is clear that a reference to the vulva and or labia is being made. By making these works, Schiele is successfully pushing the boundaries, and stepping away and disregarding the way of academic art making. 

  

Reclinging Female Nude on Red Drape (1914)

   by Egon Schiele

   Private Collection

Photo & Information Credit

“Egon Schiele, Nude Self-Portrait” <http://www.allpaintings.org/v/Expressionism/Egon+Schiele/Egon+Schiele+-+Nude_+Self-portrait.jpg.html> (April 23, 2016)
“Reclining Female Nude on Red Drape, 1914”<http://www.art.com/products/p12968607-sa-i2207946/egon-schiele-reclining-female-nude-on-red-drape-1914.htmTop of Form> (April 23, 2016)

Short, Chris. Scheile. New York: Phaidon Press Limited., 1997.

Seated Male Nude

Seated Male Nude (Self-Portrait) (1910)

by Egon Schiele

Leopold Museum

As a lone survivor, this work of art is one of the last remaining pieces from a series of five large figure studies Schiele did in 1910. In the piece Seated Male Nude (Self Portrait) shown above, Egon Schiele depicts himself as a bare and unprotected figure alone on a white picture plane. The reasoning behind this choice of composition could correlate with the artist’s separation from former mentor artist Gustav Klimt, another renowned painter from Austria. At this time, Schiele had completely stripped himself of his past techniques of painted he examined and learned from Klimt, and has produced his own mark. A mark focusing mostly on line and geometrical forms, but a mark that could express vulnerability, curiosity, confusion, sexual tension, and has just an overall uncomfortable aura. In his portrayal of the Seated Male Nude, Schiele incorporates all those qualities within one piece, that fact that it was a self-portrait is interesting in itself. The sitting figure can be seen as vulnerable with the decision of having the legs lay comfortably open, and the figures arms in a relaxing state. That same limb placement can create sexual tension between the viewers and this depiction of Schiele. Along with compositional factors, the delicate attention to the breast and areolas create a sense of unbalanced gender identity and leave the viewers curious, and perhaps uneasy. The figure also seems trapped within the piece itself which could be commenting on Schiele’s personal thoughts of life, or art during the time. 

Photo & Information Credit

“Egon Schiele, Seated Male Nude (Self-Portrait)” Masterpieces of the Collection The Leopold Collection Leopold Museum <http://www.leopoldmuseum.org/en/leopoldcollection/masterpieces/35> (April 23, 2016)

Schroder, Klaus A & Sceemann, Harald. Egon Scheile and His Contemporaries – Austrian Painting and Drawing from 1900 to 1930 from the Leopld Collection, Vienna. New York: Neues Publishing Company.,1989.

Short, Chris. Scheile. New York: Phaidon Press Limited., 1997.