Egon Schiele: Portraits

This book accompanies a major exhibition devoted to portraits created by Austrian artist Egon Schiele, whose figurative work exhibits intense emotion and technical brilliance. Egon Schiele (1890–1918) was one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. A superb draftsman and colorist, he produced images of startling emotional power. Following the lead of his mentor, Gustav Klimt, Schiele created figurative works of uncanny intimacy and brought a new openness to the art of his time. Schiele's premature death at the age of 28 has added a mythic quality to his artistic achievements. Egon Schiele: Portraits focuses on five groupings of the artist's work: family and academy, fellow artists, sitters and patrons, lovers, and allegory. In addition, it features a special section on a traumatic and pivotal period in Schiele's life: his arrest and imprisonment during the summer of 1912. Documenting the artist's changing style, both pre- and post-imprisonment, the book features many key works that have been assembled for this exhibition from both American and European museums and private collections.