Schiele's work is not as well known as that of his contemporary, Gustav Klimt, but that will no longer be the case once this book and the major traveling exhibit it accompanies exert their moody influence. Schiele, the ultimate fin de si{Š}ecle artist, was born in 1890 to a father already suffering the fatal effects of syphilis. Haunted by the sexual source of his father's insanity and death, Schiele himself succumbed to influenza at 28, leaving behind a collection of arresting, sexually charged nudes, portraits, and landscapes. This volume is a superb introduction to Schiele: the text is succinct, and the plates are stunning. Schiele was a "consummate master of line," steeped in "ambivalence and ambiguity" and a searching sexuality. His nudes are, curiously, both vulnerable and defiant, while his self-portraits are startlingly dramatic and iconographic. When Schiele portrayed himself, he captured his intrinsic unconventionality and fascination with both the expressiveness of the body and the precariousness of life. We can't help but wonder how Schiele's work would have evolved had he lived longer; his last paintings exhibit a fresh naturalness and sense of calm.
Donna Seaman
From Library Journal
The work of Egon Schiele is not as well known as that of his older fellow Expressionist, Gustav Klimt. This catalog, along with the exhibition it accompanies( which travels to the National Gallery of Art, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and the San Diego Museum of Art), should help bring Schiele out of Klimt's shadow. Profusely illustrated with color plates as well as black-and-white photographs of lost works, the text by Kallir (author of the Schiele catalogue raisonne, Egon Schiele: The Complete Works , Abrams, 1990) provides useful commentary on the artist's tortured portrayal of the human figure. In addition to a biographical chronology of the artist and exhibition checklist, there is a fascinating essay by Schiele scholar Alessandra Comini describing her meetings in the 1960s with many of Schiele's portrait subjects. Highly recommended for art libraries and strong collections of 20th-century art.-- Martin R. Kalfatovic, Natl. Museum of American Art/Natl. Portrait Gallery Lib., Smithsonian Inst., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
