Death and Maiden (Man and Girl) (1915) by Egon Schiele, via The Belvedere

Currently on view at The Belvedere in Vienna is an exhibition dedicated entirely to the portraits and self-portraits of Egon Schiele (1890- 1918), one of Austria’s most important twentieth-century artists. Schiele’s work departs from traditional portraiture in order to render his subjects’ mental and emotional states with exaggerated expression. Elongated and skeletal limbs are accentuated through the use of somber colors, and often his models seem to be at the height of anguish. Such dark and exaggerated portrayals echo the stylistic tendencies of early Austrian Expressionism as well as the tension present pre-wartime Austria.

Der Verleger Eduard Kosmack (1910) by Egon Schiele, via The Belvedere

More text and related links after the jump….

(more…)