Egon Schiele

Egon Schiele (12 June 1890 – 31 October 1918) was an Austrian expressionist painter. In 1909 Schiele met the art critic Arthur Roessler, who was very positive about his work and later wrote a biography of Schiele. The works of Egon Schiele are expressionist and belong to the painting style of the Viennese Secession. Schiele's drawings and paintings are mainly depictions of people. To a limited extent, Schiele painted cityscapes and landscapes. Because of the strong use of lines, Schiele can be seen as a draughtsman rather than a painter. Colour in the paintings is only applied afterwards, when the drawing is finished. However, the use of colour greatly enhances the alienating effect. Schiele's paintings are reminiscent of those of Kokoschka, but also have a cubist character. Although Schiele is strongly influenced by the work of Gustav Klimt, the lines he uses are completely different in nature. While Klimt mainly depicts round, soft shapes, with which he idealizes the human form, Schiele uses powerful, angular lines. As a result, the depicted bodies are experienced as strange and often frightening by the viewer.