Lena Rivera
Egon Schiele was an Austrian painter born in 1890 in Tulln, Lower Austria. Schiele's career was short but productive, and he left behind a collection of paintings and drawings that reveal the work of a precocious artist. Schiele's main subjects were female nudes, self-portraits, and paintings of children. In 1910, at the age of 20, Schiele painted three large full-figure self-portraits, including the Seated Male Nude. This nude self-portrait is a remarkably radical image in which Schiele took himself seriously as a subject for art, expressing many aspects of himself visually, from his internal anxieties to his sexuality and the fear of death.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Artist | Egon Schiele |
| Date | 1910 |
| Age of the artist when painted | 20 |
| Type | Oil and gouache on canvas |
| Dimensions | 152.5 x 150 cm |
| Location | Leopold Museum, Vienna |
| Description | The artist's body is depicted with his feet cut off and his hands tightly wound, stretched across diagonally on an empty white background. |
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What You'll Learn
Egon Schiele's 'Seated Male Nude' (1910)
Egon Schiele was an Austrian painter born in 1890 in the scenic town of Tulln, Lower Austria. His father, Adolf Schiele, was the station master of the Tulln station in the Austrian State Railways, and his mother, Marie, was born in Český Krumlov (Krumau). Schiele co-founded the Neukunstgruppe (New Art Group) in Vienna but soon moved away from this group and started experimenting on his own. Schiele's paintings and drawings are considered early examples of Expressionism, and his primary subjects were female nudes, self-portraits, and paintings of children. Schiele's career was short but incredibly productive and intense.
One of Schiele's most renowned works is the "Seated Male Nude (Self-Portrait)," completed in 1910 when the artist was just 20 years old. This painting is one of five large nude self-portraits created that year and is the only surviving work from the series, with the other four paintings lost and only preserved in black-and-white photographs. In this provocative self-portrait, Schiele expresses his internal anxieties, sexuality, and fear of death through his body language and facial expressions. The painting pushes the limits of what is anatomically possible, with its yellow-green flesh, signal-red eyes, and brightly coloured nipples, navel, and genitals, deviating from any naturalistic colour scheme.
The "Seated Male Nude (Self-Portrait)" reflects Schiele's obsession with exploring different aspects of his ego and identity through his art. Schiele's mentor, the early 20th-century figurative painter Gustav Klimt, also influenced his interest in the nude as a subject. Schiele's self-portraits, including the "Seated Male Nude," are known for their radical and expressive nature, often reflecting on the artist's internal struggles and the quintessence of human existence.
The painting is currently housed in the Leopold Museum in Vienna, Austria, and it stands as a testament to Schiele's talent and his ability to convey deep emotions and complexities through his art. Schiele's works continue to be celebrated and recognised for their unique style and their ability to capture the human condition in a raw and unfiltered manner. Schiele's legacy has also influenced popular culture, with references in films like "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and David Bowie's album "Lodger."
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Schiele's mentor, Gustav Klimt
Egon Schiele was an Austrian Expressionist painter known for his self-portraits, including nude self-portraits. Schiele's career was short but productive. He created over three hundred oil paintings and several thousand works on paper before passing away at the age of twenty-eight in 1918.
Schiele's early works between 1907 and 1909 show strong similarities with those of Klimt, as well as influences from Art Nouveau. Klimt's decorative eroticism and figurative distortions can be seen in Schiele's later works, along with his own distinctive style. Schiele also explored concepts ranging from the fear of death to depression and isolation, embracing what would typically be considered ugly.
The two artists shared a mutual respect and friendship that lasted until their deaths. Their works reveal shared subjects, such as the Viennese society woman Friederike Maria Beer-Monti, who was a subject of both Klimt and Schiele's portraits. Klimt and Schiele also pushed the boundaries of acceptable subject matter, both causing public outrage with their depictions of nude women.
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The artist's other self-portraits
Egon Schiele was an Austrian Expressionist painter known for his psychologically complex self-portraits, including nude self-portraits. Schiele's self-portraits are characterised by twisted body shapes and expressive lines, marking him as an early exponent of Expressionism.
Schiele produced a large series of self-portraits in watercolours and paintings between 1910 and 1918. In 1910, at the age of 20, he painted three large full-figure self-portraits, including the "Seated Male Nude". During this early period, Schiele's works showed emaciated figures, but his style evolved, and his later portraits displayed more lively and organic figures.
One of Schiele's most unusual self-portraits is the "Self-portrait with Peacock Waistcoat Standing". Unlike his previous work, the figure is not standing in a blank space, and the paper is filled out entirely. The artist is dressed elegantly, despite being extremely poor at the time. The painting features Schiele's legendary gesture with a V shape, reminiscent of Christ Pantocrator's gesture in Byzantine frescoes.
Schiele's self-portraits were also used as a means to court his future wife, Edith Harms. He hung his self-portraits out of the window to catch the attention of Edith and her sister, Adelaide, who lived across the street from his studio.
Schiele's self-portraits have been exhibited in various museums and galleries, including the Leopold Museum in Vienna, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid. His works continue to be studied and analysed, with exhibitions dedicated to his landscape art and portraiture.
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His paintings of female nudes
Egon Schiele was an Austrian Expressionist painter known for his intense and sexually explicit work, as well as his many self-portraits, including nude self-portraits. Schiele's paintings and drawings are characterised by twisted body shapes and expressive lines, marking him as an early exponent of Expressionism.
Female nudes were among Schiele's main subjects, and he is said to have helped redefine portraiture in Vienna at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1910, Schiele began experimenting with nudes, and within a year, a definitive style emerged featuring emaciated, sickly-coloured figures with strong sexual overtones. Schiele's work rejected conventional ideas of beauty and instead embraced what would typically be considered ugly. He explored themes such as the fear of death, depression, and isolation.
Schiele's nudes often depicted prostitutes, who were some of his favourite models. He would pay them to pose for him, and these works were often explicit and confrontational. The artist's wife, Edith Schiele, was also a frequent subject of his paintings, although she was uncomfortable posing nude. For one portrait, Schiele adopted a different approach, painting her in a striped dress, standing against a blank background. This portrait is said to have pushed Schiele's work into a new phase, as he was forced to portray his subject in a radical new way.
Schiele's female nudes are known for their raw sexuality and expressive lines. They often feature distorted body shapes and emaciated figures, reflecting the artist's interest in exploring the human form and sexuality. Schiele's work in this genre has been exhibited and recognised internationally, with one of his watercolour nudes selling for €1.827 million (US$2.418 million) at an online auction in 2013, setting a world record.
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Schiele's early Expressionism
Egon Schiele was an Austrian Expressionist painter known for his psychologically and erotically charged works. Schiele's work is noted for its intensity and raw sexuality, with a focus on self-portraits, female nudes, and paintings of children. His paintings and drawings serve as examples of early Expressionism, characterised by twisted body shapes and expressive lines.
Schiele's early Expressionist works were influenced by Gustav Klimt, whom he sought out as a mentor in 1907. Klimt took an interest in the young Schiele, buying his drawings, offering to exchange them for his own, arranging models for him, and introducing him to potential patrons. Schiele's earliest works between 1907 and 1909 show strong similarities with those of Klimt and influences from Art Nouveau. However, Schiele soon evolved his own distinctive style, gradually distancing himself from Klimt's decorative and ornate style.
In 1908, Schiele had his first exhibition in Klosterneuburg, and in 1909, he left the academy after completing his third year. He then co-founded the Neukunstgruppe ("New Art Group") with other dissatisfied students, including Max Oppenheimer and Oskar Kokoschka. Schiele's early works during this period were marked by his use of children as nude models and his erotic depictions of pubescent girls, as seen in "Nude Girls Reclining" (1911).
In 1910, at the age of 20, Schiele painted three large full-figure self-portraits, including the "Seated Male Nude." This period also marked the beginning of Schiele's exploration of his own sexuality and gender norms, as seen in his nude self-portraits. Schiele's portraits and self-portraits helped redefine portraiture in Vienna at the beginning of the 20th century, combining torment and eroticism in a uniquely Expressionistic way.
Schiele's early Expressionist works laid the foundation for his brief but prolific career, during which he created over three hundred oil paintings and several thousand works on paper before his untimely death from influenza in 1918 at the age of twenty-eight.
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Frequently asked questions
Seated Male Nude (Self-Portrait).
The Leopold Museum, Vienna.
Watercolour and black chalk on wrapping paper.
