Schiele, Egon, << SHEE lay, AY gawn >> (1890-1918), was an Austrian artist. He was one of the masters of Expressionism in Austria during the early 1900’s.
Schiele was influenced by the French Impressionists early in his career but soon turned to the work of his fellow Austrian artist Gustav Klimt for inspiration. Schiele’s style displays some of the decorative qualities and curved lines common to Klimt’s art. However, Schiele was more concerned with capturing the emotional states of the human figure. He occasionally painted landscapes but generally devoted himself to portraying partly clothed or nude women and self-portraits. His figures are angular, thin, and twisted into unusual and uncomfortable poses. They suggest anxiety, tension, and violence, often combined with eroticism. The public found Schiele’s work disturbing in its frank depiction of sexuality, and he was once briefly jailed on a morals charge. Schiele was born in Tulln on June 12, 1890, and died in Vienna on Oct. 31, 1918, during an influenza epidemic.
