Egon Schiele: His Life and Death

Schiele''s brief, controversial career is examined with bold insights in this graphic biography... Coste doesn''t shy away from the emotional brutality of Schiele''s story. In fact, he embraces it, weaving elements of Schiele''s eerie, idiosyncratic paintings with his own artistic style. Drawing on the same Expressionist techniques that drove Schiele''s artistic passions, Coste conjures a story that beckons the reader to see the world through its subject''s eyes. Unveils the Austro-Hungarian artist''s relationship with colleagues and models and the passions that drove him further into his craft. This semifictionalized biography of Austro-Hungarian painter Egon Schiele (1890-1918) focuses on his brief but controversial career during a time of upheaval in the world and the arts. A prot g of artist Gustav Klimt, Schiele dropped out of school to pursue a more provocative art form that pushed the boundaries of taste. Sexual in nature, his work featured full nudity and a colorful, expressionistic style. Such talent came with a turbulent personal life. Schiele was troubled, manipulative, and deceptive; he often sabotaged relationships and alienated loved ones. At one point, he was imprisoned for obscenity and scandalous conduct. Tragically, after finding peace and new artistic success, his life was cut short by the Spanish flu. Ultimately, he left a powerful artistic legacy. Debut French author/illustrator Coste has an affinity for Schiele''s work, its expressive style permeating every panel of this volume. The artwork is largely painted in warm, earthy, almost sepia tones evoking a feel for the time period and rendering naturalistic but exaggerated reflections of the inner emotional states of the characters. A wonderful exploration of a tragic artist. Recommended for mature fans of art, art history, biographies, and expressionism.

The story of the artistic genius who provoked early 20th-century tolerance.

Egon Schiele is an evocative depiction based on the life of the Austro-Hungarian artist whose short career spanned the turn of the 20th century. Schiele (1890-1918) was a painter known for full-frontal portraits of naked women (and on many occasions, himself). They were stark and disturbing. He painted his subjects in gaunt, twisting and unnatural poses. Their voyeuristic tone and blatant eroticism outraged society, landing him in prison for 24 days. Nevertheless, his works would have a strong influence on the development of expressionist art.

The book focuses on the artist''s creative years, the development of his talent, his relationships with other artists, including Gustav Klimt, the women in his life, and his obsession with making provocative art. Quickly following Schiele''s early successes were his failures. In the end, it was the Spanish flu that killed him at the tragically young age of 28.

Egon Schiele is a seductive and intimate portrait of an artistic genius who was both lauded and condemned for his brilliance. His works, at one time judged to be disgusting and perverse, are now considered masterpieces and are in museums all around the world.

• | Author: Xavier Coste
• | Publisher: Firefly Books Ltd
• | Publication Date: Sep 19, 2017
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Hardback
• | ISBN-13: 9781770859401
• | ISBN-10: 1770859403