The treasury: Egon Schiele. Gazes
In our “Treasury” you can find an annually changing choice of art works by the exceptional artist.
© Bild: (c) Detail, Egon Schiele: Schieles Schwägerin mit verschränkten Händen, halbe Figur (1917), Privatbesitz
Egon Schiele. Gazes
“Egon Schiele. Gazes” presents key works that have rarely been exhibited in recent decades. It intentionally plays with the ambiguity of the title. On the one hand, Egon Schiele was a grand master of presenting looks and gazes – something that is rarely highlighted. Like few other artists, he turned the eyes and gazes of his subjects into features of their identity. Their gazes are full of meaning. In most cases, their eyes enter into a dialogue with the viewer, but a refusal of such a relationship – in depictions of the artist’s mother, for example – is not a coincidence.
The exhibition also reveals the novelty and freshness of Schiele’s perspective on numerous topics of the modern period. Understanding his environment allows us to experience the turn of eras that marked his work, and it keeps them relevant to this day. Schiele viewed himself and the nature surrounding him in a novel way, and did the same for women. He focussed on the individuality, self-confidence and vulnerability of the women he depicted. Nudes are a very important component of Schiele’s portrait art. For him, nudity is not so much a way to expose a person, but rather a way to focus on the body as something natural. Ever-changing lines of gaze, perspectives, picture details, movements and formal experiments create an almost inexhaustible treasure trove.
Recommended visiting time: 15 minutes
Bild: (c) Detail, Egon Schiele: Schieles Schwägerin mit verschränkten Händen, halbe Figur (1917), Privatbesitz
