Egon Schiele: The 10 year Artist

Egon Schiele, one of the most celebrated Arists of the last 100 years despite his very short lifespan.

Schiele lived in Vienna at a very colourful time in history,  born 12th June 1890 in a train station he was something of a child prodigy drawing from the age of 2. Schiele, in young adulthood, became a firm friend of Gustav Klimt who saw Schiele's talent and organised for models and patrons for the artwork of this young painter.

Egon always considered himself an eternal child which propelled his adolecent view of his sexual erotic paintings. And his honesty of himself and his female nudes ensured his notoriety along with his free spirited view of life.

The police were called to Schiele's studio after one of his legendary parties where erotic sketches were found, that led to the accusation of him seducing a minor and he was jailed pending the investigation. He was never found guilty but that didn't stop officials ripping up and burning some of his erotic drawings.

Tragedy struck Schiele and his family in 1918 when he lost his wife and child to the Spanish Flu virus and he himself died aged 28 only 3 days later.

But Egon Schiele has proven that the time he had on this planet was fruitful and by all accounts the amount of erotic (and other) art he has left for us to enjoy combined with the honest way in which he lived his life. Has shown the  two common denominators of his passion, sex and death, enveloped him to the very end.

It seems unjust that it was as he was becoming recognised for his portraits and artwork, he died, so he never got to enjoy the accalades he so craved. He did leave us however with a body of erotic work which continues to inspire erotic fans today.
Enjoy this.......and my other posts.......and if you have a comment, feel free to share your views.

Gustave Courbet: Father of French 19th Century Realism

Gustav Courbet, 1819-1877. A true individual who famously said he wanted to be remembered when he died with this statement..... "He belonged to no school, no church, no institution, no acadamy. Least of all to any régime other than the régime of Liberty".

Courbet has a huge volume of artistic works from Landscapes to Seascapes, from Portraits to numerous Self-Portraits, Still life, Social depiction. His range and interest was vast and he spearheaded the 19th Century Realism movement. But alas, as fantastic as this might be, my interests lay in one particular area of his expertise and you don't get any prize for guessing which area I refere to.

During the 1860's Gustave embarked on his erotic painting journey and many of his paintings would not be shown in public due to their graphic nature and his fascination with female genitalia. Those paintings that were displayed increased Courbet's notoriety.

This picture above "The Origin of Life" was not publicly displayed untill 1988 and at the time of it's painting in 1866 was subject to a police report.

Gustav in later life lived in exile, in part, because of his disagreements with Napoleon III and his refusal to comply with formalities, even after Napoleon III had offered him the cross of The Legion of Honor. And also  
his unpaid fines to the newly elected president.

Gustav Courbet passed away at the age of 58 on the 31st of December 1877 from liver disease after many years of excessive drinking.
I hope you like this blog, please leave a comment if it interests you! Untill next time...................