The oil, gouache, and charcoal on canvas from 1910, Portrait of the Painter Karl ZakovÃ... ¡ek, fits Comini's description of Schiele's quintessential placement of his subject in "an existential state." She related, "There is no environment. There is no chair of room. Schiele has stripped away all surrounding. The figure is centralized on a diagonal lean." As Comini explained, "With Schiele, there is a constant search for identity and authenticity." She added, "Hostile critics called it 'pathological portraiture.'" Rather, as Comini pointed out, it was a contrast between "faà §ade and psyche; rational versus irrational; schein to sein (appearance to being)."
In "Sitters and Patrons," the portrait of Dr. Erwin von Graff stands out due to qualities that render the physician in an eerie and almost sinister way. Von Graff was a gynecologist who provided Schiele with the favor of an abortion for one of the artist's companions.
The face, hands, and left arm of the doctor are mottled and dark brown in places, giving them the quality of burnt flesh. The right arm is stretched across the chest in what Comini calls "a language of gestures." The bony fingers with prominent knuckles get an additional point of reference, with the accent of a small bandage on the ring finger of the right hand.
As Schiele picked up more commissions, he had to please his patron's whims and desires. An example is Portrait of Carl Reininghaus (1910), where the sitter is portrayed wearing his lederhosen. Additionally, Comini noted that Schiele "obliged certain collectors with his erotic pictures--which found no lack of clients." It was an opportunity for Schiele to mine additional income.
In "Lovers" we see studies of Wally, Schiele's longtime companion, and his wife Edith. Wally in Red Blouse with Raised Knees captures the essence of what comes to mind for many when they think of Schiele. That of a woman in a pose where legs are accented by colored stockings accompanied by an air of openness and availability.
Wally in Red Blouse with Raised Knees, 1913
Watercolor, gouache, and pencil
Although in 1917, Edith would be painted with garters and stockings in Portrait of the Artist's Wife Seated, Holding Her Right Leg, the flesh of her left thigh exposed, his 1915 full-length portrait revealed a very different story. Comini conveyed that Edith "hated the portrait" as it showed her as "fragile and unsophisticated." Although the material and folds of the dress are meticulously rendered, the facial expression is blank. Edith's hands resemble rigid claws. Part of Schiele's motivation in marrying Edith was the hope that it would delay his army service. Although he saw Edith as a "petite bourgeoisie coquette," she was of a suitable background for marriage--unlike Wally. Schiele harbored hopes of maintaining relationships with both women, post-nuptials, a concept that was tersely nixed by Wally and Edith.
Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Standing (Edith Schiele in Striped Dress), 1915
Oil on canvas
In the "Eros" section, there are nude girls and women partially clothed, sometimes with lifted skirts or just wearing stockings. Genitals are pronounced. Observed in a Dream (1911) presents a woman, face partially covered, lying on her back while spreading open the labia of her vagina. The Red Host (1911) situates Schiele with a paramour, seated beneath him. A huge, erect phallus extends up from her hand to his mid-chest area, blending in with the alizarin crimson of his shirt. Reclining Woman with Green Stockings (1917) uses black crayon and gouache to ground his figure, giving it a more concrete feeling than his watercolor and pencils works.
Comini construes Schiele's "obsessive preoccupation" with sex as directly correlated to his father's deterioration and death from syphilis. The disease, which can be contracted through birth, affected two of his siblings, who died as well. Comini interprets Schiele's immersion in sexuality as a form of warding of the "specter of syphilis," akin to a form of "white magic."
In the "Self-Portraits and Allegorical Self-Portraits ," after the early academic portraits of 1906-1907, the works evolve to the edgy, angular imagery characteristic of Schiele's approach and technique. Tufts of armpit or pubic hair take on the appearance of electrified wire. Free-floating heads are haloed by white gouache. Hands are highlighted and elongated. A utilization of the brown hues that were apparent in the von Graff portrait is seen. One painted head shows Schiele with a shirt, bow tie, and jacket that melts into a simple line drawing. Triple Self-Portrait combines three facial expressions, while another 1914 piece renders Schiele as the martyred St. Sebastian.
In April of 1918, Edith became pregnant. That same year, Schiele completed The Family (Squatting Couple). Edith would die six months later from the influenza epidemic. Schiele would fall ill as well. He died on the day of Edith's burial. He was 28 years old.
The Family (Squatting Couple), 1918
Oil on canvas
In The Family, Schiele continued to include visual language from his previous work in his own self-portrayal. He looks directly out at the viewer. His shoulders are tilted, his left arm is exaggerated in length, and his right arm crosses his chest. The result is contorted. Yet, Edith's body is portrayed more realistically. Her expression is one of sadness, as she looks off into space. The child, who was never born, has a doll-like quality. The face is predominately white, as opposed to the flesh tone of the ear, giving the appearance of a mask.
Schiele's work had an unmatched intensity. It's impossible to gauge what path he would have taken if he had lived, or how he would have navigated Nazi rule. By the time of the Anschluss, Schiele would have been middle-aged. Comini noted that even in his youth, Schiele was was "apolitical, unlike Oskar Kokoschka." The responsibility of fatherhood was about to impact him, and he had ambitious plans to convince Viennese luminaries to join together to create a new unity of the arts.
Just as Sigmund Freud upended and challenged the way society viewed the psyche and sexuality in fin-de-sià ¨cle Vienna--Schiele reached the same results with emotionally charged works that reflected his inner turmoil, desires, and fantasies. One hundred years later, they continue to resonate just as vividly in the 21st century.
Neue Galerie New York
Museum for German and Austrian Art
1048 Fifth Avenue
New York City
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