The Egon Schiele sketch that rocked me to the core

When Austrian painter Egon Schiele died at 28, he left behind 3,000 drawings and more than 300 paintings. Schiele has been described as major figurative painter of the early 20th century but today thought I would share a sketch that at the time rocked me to the core.
I saw this image at the National Gallery, London in 2013 at an exhibition titled Facing the Modern: The Portrait in Vienna 1900.

Image credit Egon Schiele [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

I was tired, very tired as we had been on our feet doing tourist things all day when I looked up and saw it. She looked tired like I felt! So I crossed the room to take a closer look. I read the title Edith Schiele on her deathbed. Then I read the little information blurb about the image. I discovered Egon Schiele had sketched his wife Edith who was 6 months pregnant. She died of Spanish flu not long after this sketch was made. Three days later Egon Schiele also died of Spanish Flu aged 28. When I read this, I nearly broke out in tears and had to move away from that room in the gallery. This deeply moving sketch has lived with me ever since. I have thought about it often, particularly during and since the Covid epidemic in 2020. It is a poignant sketch for sure but I have often wondered at those eyes knowing they would soon loose all vitality.

I have always been a fan of Egon Schiele and since that particular exhibition even more so. I always find Schiele’s work powerful and often an emotionally confusing reminder of the complexity of being human. Schiele produced a wealth of startlingly original body of work that still captivates audiences more than a century after his death.

Edith Schiele in a Striped Dress, Seated, 1915 Leopold Museum. Image credit Egon Schiele [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Egon Schiele born June 12, 1890, in Austria showed an early aptitude for drawing and at just 16 years old, Schiele enrolled at the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. While still a student Schiele met Gustav Klimt, the leading figure of the Vienna Secession movement, who became his mentor and early supporter. By 1909, Schiele had left the Academy and founded the Neukunstgruppe (New Art Group) with other like-minded young artists. It was during this period that his signature style began to emerge.

Schiele’s work was controversial. Schiele met the seventeen-year-old Walburga (Wally) Neuzil and moved to Neulengbach a town just outside Vienna, to live and work with his lover and muse. The towns residents disapproved of their lifestyle. In April 1912 Schiele was arrested under suspicion of kidnapping and seducing a minor. When he went to court, the charges were dropped, but the artist was found guilty of exhibiting obscene drawings. He had spent 24 days in prison waiting his trial and although the charges were dropped, the incident scarred his reputation and deeply affected him.

Schiele continued to gain recognition in the years that followed. His exhibitions in Cologne, Munich, and Vienna garnered attention, and he began to receive commissions and sell his work to collectors. In 1915, he broke his relationship with Wally Neuzil and married Edith Harms. Marriage brought Schiele a brief period of stability. Like many artists of his generation, Schiele was swept up in the upheaval of World War I and was drafted into the Austrian army.

In 1918 the Spanish flu pandemic at aged 28 Egon Schiele died. Although his career lasted scarcely a decade long, he left behind more than 3,000 drawings and over 300 paintings. During his life and in the immediate years following his death, Schiele’s reputation suffered due to the explicit raw nature of his work. However, by the latter half of the 20th century, a reevaluation of his work was underway. Today, Egon Schiele is celebrated as one of the key figures of Austrian Expressionism and a pioneer of psychological portraiture.

If you have the chance to visit the Leopold museum in the heart of Vienna do so. Meanwhile you can indulge yourself visiting their website and browsing the collection.