Egon Schiele

By Sandra Forty

Egon Schiele is considered by many to be the greatest draftsman of the 20th century. The undeniable fact, however. that a considerable share of his work is of an explicitly erotic nature has blinded many people to his remarkable ability, so much so that he is primarily known as an Austrian Expressionist artist of the erotic. Schiele’s full artistic flowering lasted only a little over 10 years. He was cut down at the cruelly early age of 28, just as he was about to truly embrace his talent and take it to another level. Schiele’s greatest early influence was the work of his older compatriot Gustav Klimt. His preferred medium was gouache, pencil, and watercolor on coarse-grained, sometimes colored, paper. His oil paintings are relatively few in number. Because he died so oung—aged only 28—art historians can only speculate where Schiele’s more mature talent would have taken him if he had lived to middle, and even old, age.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TAJ Books International
• Release date: Mar 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781844062164

Sandra Forty

Sandra Forty is a graduate of London University where she studied medieval and early modern history, including a spell at the Courtauld Institute learning about Renaissance art from Professor Gombrich. Since then she has worked as a journalist in London, then as a book editor and writer. She is the author of a number of books, most on art and architecture. Sandra lives in south Devon with her husband, children and many cats.

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Published by TAJ Books International LLP 2012

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Contents

Egon Schiele

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Index

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EGON SCHIELE

June 12, 1890–October 31, 1918

For many art critics and modern enthusiasts, Egon Schiele is the greatest draftsman of the twentieth century. He could capture with flowing strokes and seemingly minimal effort a portrait or landscape so palpably real that artistic talent is too insufficient a phrase to convey his exceptional skill. However, the undeniable fact that a considerable share of his work is of an explicitly erotic nature has blinded many people to his remarkable ability. Unfortunately, Schiele’s full artistic flowering lasted only a little over 10 years. He was cut down at the cruelly early age of only 28, just as he was about to truly embrace his talent and take it to another level. Egon Schiele controversially explored the themes of sexuality, the erotic, and the grotesque as well as ideas about death, with a modern unsentimental eye, so much so that he is primarily known as an Austrian Expressionist artist of