EGON SCHIELE (AUSTRIAN 1890-1918)
Melanie Schiele, 1908
estate stamp and inscription by Rudolf Leopold on the reverse
pencil on paper
31 x 22 cm

PROVENANCE:
Possibly Galleria Galatea, Turin
Norbert Gradisch
Private collection

LITERATURE:
Jane Kallir, Egon Schiele: The Complete Works, 1998, D188 p. 368

EXHIBITED:
*Egon Schiele: Watercolors, Drawings, Graphics, London, Fischer Fine Art, June-July 1975, no. 9.
Egon Schiele: Werke aus Familienbesitz [works from the collections of Norbert Gradisch and the Niederösterreichisches Landesmuseum], Vienna, Niederösterreichisches Landesmuseum, Oct. 19-Dec 30, 1979, no. 41, ill. (incorrectly identified as 50b).
Egon Schiele 1890-1918: Heimkehr nach Tulln 1980 [based on the 1977 Innsbruck exhibition], Tulln, Austria, Rathaus, March 19880, no. 35, ill.
Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka, Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, April 3- May 17, no. 49, ill.
Egon Schiele: Der künsterische Nachlass [based on the 1977 Innsbruck exhibition], Kirchheim unter Teck, Austria, Kulturring, May 23-June 13 1982, no. 50, ill.

Schiele's early career was influenced by his mentor, Gustav Klimt, whose influence can be seen in the present drawing, a tender and elegant depiction of his eldest sister Melanie Schiele, 1908.

In 1906, at the age of sixteen, Schiele entered Vienna’s Akademie der Bildenden Künste, to become the youngest of his fellow students, in 1908 he advanced to the General Painting class.

Schiele's work evolved into an intensely emotional expression, with distorted forms, and provocative subject matter. Focusing on the human figure, particularly self-portraits, he explored themes of sexuality, death, and the human psyche. His work was controversial and provocative for its time, pushing the boundaries of societal norms.

We are grateful to Joanna Payne ACR for the condition report of the lot. Please contact the department to request the condition report