Schiele, Egon

PAINTER (AUSTRIA)
BORN 12 Jun 1890, Tulln - DIED 31 Oct 1918, Wien
CAUSE OF DEATH spanish flu
GRAVE LOCATION Wien: Friedhof Ober-St. Veit, Gemeindeberggasse 26, Hietzing (Gruppe B, Reihe 10, Nummer 15)

Egon Schiele studied at the Akademie der Bildenden Kunste in Vienna. He was a student of Strauch, Kahrer and Griepenkerl. In 1907 he met Gustav Klimt, who acted as his mentor, encouraging him and influencing him as well.

In 1909 Schiele left the academy together with other dissatisfied students and founded the Neukunstgruppe. Thanks to Klimt he was able to exhibit at the Vienna Kunstschau in 1909. In the same year the Neukunstgruppe exhibited and there he met and befriended the art critic Arthur Roessler.

In 1911 he left Vienna to live in small villages. He wouldn't find peace there, because in 1912 he was arrested for painting erotic pictures that were considered immoral. He was imprisoned for 24 days and created some watercolours in prison.

Schiele was a poor man because nobody seemed to want his work. He exhibited at the Secession in Munich and had a solo exhibition in Paris in 1914. In 1915 he married Edith Harms and a few years later he entered the Austrian army.

In 1918 his solo exhibition in the main hall of the Secession in Vienna was very successful and brought him money as well. Unfortunately he died in the same year of the Spanish flu, three days after it had killed his wife. Only after his death he was critically acclaimed and his name became well known.

Works: "Self Seer" (1911); "The Cardinal and Nun" (1912); "Embrace" (1917).

Related persons
• knew Benesch, Otto
• was pupil of Griepenkerl, Christian
• was influenced by Klimt, Gustav

Images

The grave of Egon Schiele at the Friedhof Ober-St. Veit, Vienna.
Picture by Androom (25 Aug 2002)

 

Sources
• Aubert, Joachim, Handbuch der Grabstätten berühmten Deutscher, Österreicher und Schweizer, Deutscher Kunstverlag, München, 1973
• Becker, Edwin & Sabine Grabner (eds.), Wenen 1900, Portret en interieur, Van Goghmuseum, Amsterdam, 1997


Schievelbein, Hermann

Published: 01 Jan 2006
Last update: 02 May 2022