Egon Schiele

Egon Schiele was a figurative artist from Austria. Egon Schiele painted portraits in an expressionist style which meant he tried to show feelings through his work, rather than trying to capture something realistic.

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Top facts about Egon Schiele!

• Egon Schiele was born on 12 June 1890 and died on 31 October 1918
• Egon Schiele was a painter from Austria
• He died of Spanish flu, aged just 28 years old
• Despite being so young, he created over 3000 artworks on paper, and 300 paintings
• He is world famous and his paintings are known for being intense and raw
• Egon Schiele’s dad was a train station master, and Schiele was fascinated by trains as a young boy
• Schiele’s dad destroyed all of his early art sketchbooks
• He dropped out of art school after 3 years because he didn’t like the teacher’s artistic style
• During the war, Schiele guarded Russian prisoners… and painted them!

What type of painter was Egon Schiele?

Egon Schiele is described as an expressionist figurative painter. He painted a lot of portraits, but also created full body paintings showing the figures in unusual and dramatic positions. Expressionist painters like Egon Schiele were interested in creating a feeling, emotion or atmosphere in their work, rather than trying to create something scientifically realistic. Schiele is known for paintings that show twisted shapes and expressive, striking lines.

Looking at portrait paintings by Schiele, you may think they look strange and out of shape – and they are! Schiele’s main focus was to paint feelings or emotions. How do you think Schiele has managed to convey panic or fear in Self-Portrait with Raised Bare Shoulder, shown above? He has exaggerated his facial expression by making his eyebrows high and large, and widened his eyes to show fear. The brush strokes look like they have been applied quickly and create a harsh, textured finish.

“Art cannot be modern. Art is primordially eternal.”

Egon Schiele

How do you think Egon Schiele has kept a sense of realism in his paintings? Even though he used distorted shapes, jagged lines and exaggerated the facial features on his portrait paintings, Schiele often used a limited colour palette of muted tones to show skin and flesh. He also, mostly, kept the facial features in the correct place but would alter or change their size and shape.

How do you think Schiele has used composition to portray his confidence in the painting Self-Portrait with Striped Shirt?

In his paintings, Egon Schiele cleverly draws the viewer’s eye to the main focal point by using line and carefully thinking about his layout. In Self-Portrait with Striped Shirt Schiele has purposefully left out details on the shirt, apart from the shoulder line, which then draws our eye up to his face. The eyes are large and look directly back at the viewer and he has his head twisted towards us in a confident, powerful glare. There are other lines that direct our eyes too, look at the hair which is high and wide – the lines guide our eyes back down to the face.

Look closely at the colours Schiele has used above; the brightest colours are right in the middle of the painting! This is another clever technique used by the artist to make us look directly at the eyes. The warm red and orange tones used on the cheeks are complimented with a cool blue, directly below the eye, making the colours there appear more intense.

Teaching Egon Schiele? This free interactive artist research quiz helps art students explore Egon Schiele’s self-portraits and portraiture through knowledge questions, close looking, artwork comparisons and a creative drawing activity. Suitable for art lessons or independent study.

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Egon Schiele

Art Detective Quiz

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Take your time! Look carefully at the artist's work, think about your answers and develop your own drawing. Spend at least 15 minutes on this challenge, but there's no rush — you can take as long as you need.

01

Artist detective: knowledge check

Find correct answers and clues by looking carefully at the artist's work and reading the information on this page. Some questions have several correct answers.

1. Which themes are explored in this artist’s work?

Think about the ideas behind the artworks, not just the materials.

Emotions and relationships City life Everyday life Dreams and imagination Social issues Identity and belonging Select all that apply. Include evidence in your written answers below.

2. What materials does this artist use to create their work?

Examine the artwork closely and read the article. Select every material supported by what you find.

This artist page does not give enough evidence for an automatically marked answer. Explain your ideas instead.

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3. Which techniques or artistic approaches can you identify?

Look for evidence of the artist’s process and how the work is made.

Fragmentation Line drawing Abstract shapes Surrealist imagery Portraiture Mark-making Select all that apply. Include evidence in your written answers below.

4. Which subjects appear in or are described as part of the artist’s work?

Consider the images as well as the artist profile.

Landscapes and places Buildings and streets Text and lettering Animals and wildlife Objects and still life Plants and flowers People and portraits Select all that apply. Include evidence in your written answers below.

5. Which formal elements are specifically discussed or emphasised?

Look for line, tone, colour, pattern, space, shape, form and texture in the artist’s work.

Texture Line Space Colour Pattern Tone Form Select all that apply. Include evidence in your written answers below.

6. Which subject best completes this sentence about Egon Schiele?

Look for what the artist depicts in their work.

Complete the idea from the artist's article

He painted a lot of ________, but also created full body paintings showing the figures in unusual and dramatic positions.

still life arrangements abstract patterns images of people landscapes Select one answer. Look for a word or phrase with the closest meaning.

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Watch the mini biography about Egon Schiele below – what other words do they use to describe his artwork? What are the most interesting facts about his life?

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DOWNLOAD this page below, for free, as an Artist Research handout to use in your lesson. It includes all of the facts and images, and has questions for students to answer.