joseph scissorhands: Egon Schiele

Sunday 25 November 2018

Egon Schiele

Self Portrait in a Peacock Waistcoat, 1911

Another artist whose work is ubiquitous this year is Egon Schiele, it being the hundredth anniversary of the death of both himself and his friend and mentor Gustav Klimt. There is currently a show of both artists work at the Royal Academy in London, but it was to the Fondation Louis Vuitton I made my way once again whilst in the French capital, on a rainy Parisian evening, to witness this intriguing double-header of an exhibition featuring the work of Schiele and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

I don't think any exhibition of Schiele's work will surpass those that I saw last year in Vienna at the Albertina (here), and the Leopold Museum (here), both of which were dazzlingly comprehensive retrospectives, perfect showcases for his amazing expressionist draughtsmanship and painting. This exhibition though contains many works that I hadn't seen before, and contrasts and lays bare the similarities of two figurative artists with expressionistic styles, both regarded as rebellious outsiders in their day, and who had both died before they reached the age of 30. Sensibly though the curators have separated the exhibition space, giving both artists their own areas. A good Schiele exhibition is always an intense, deeply challenging affair, and with this one I was again left in raptures at the way in which Schiele handles the big themes of mourning, death, desire, and blatant sexuality. I also admire the sense of defiance and menace exuded by many of the models in his paintings and drawings who stare confrontationally out of the picture plane. This is yet another exhibition which serves as a reminder to artists to keep looking and drawing. If only I could draw like this!