The Expressionist Works of Egon Schiele

Egon Schiele
German Expressionist Painter
The Expressionist and Expressionism Art of Egon Schiele




Artist: Egon Schiele
(1890-1918)
Style: German Expressionist

The artist Egon Schiele was born in the city of Tulln, Austria. When Schiele was just the age of just 15 years old Schiele's father died of syphilis and Egon Schiele's custody was granted to his uncle who recognized and was a proponent of Schiele's artistic talent. The next year Schiele applied at Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna, Austria where Gustav Klimt had also studied. Shortly after his arrival to his new school, Schiele was transferred to a different school the Akademie der Bildenden Künste. There he studied drawing and painting but felt suffocated by the school’s conservative nature. In 1907, Schiele sought out Gustav Klimt who was a role model for the young artist. Gustav Klimt was said to encouraged Schiele by buying his drawings and providing him with opportunities. Klimt invited Schiele to exhibit his work at the 1909 Vienna Kunstschau, where Schiele encountered the works of Edvard Munch. At this point in time Shiele's work began to flourish and he began to explore, not only the human form and sexuality with his work. To some his art would considered shocking but captured the publics interest. Schiele's lifestyle was also become more complex and diverse; in April 1912 he was arrested for seducing a young girl below the age of consent. When the police came to his studio to place him under arrest they had seized more than one hundred drawings which they considered pornographic. Schiele was imprisoned but soon after the charges of seduction and abduction were dropped yet the young artist was found guilty of exhibiting erotic drawings in a place accessible to children. He was sentenced to only 24 days imprisonment. During the time that Schiele spent in prison he created a series paintings depicting the emotions he felt from his imprisonment. Schiele was married in 1915. In 1918 he was invited to the Secession's 49th exhibition. Schiele had more then forty works displayed in the exhibition. The exhibit was a major success for the artist created a great deal of recognition for the artist. Later that year the Spanish flu epidemic claimed both the lives of Egon and his pregnant wife Edith. Schiele's final work were all painted of his beloved wife. Following are some examples of Egon Schiele's paintings.



Egon Schiele - Expressionism - Dead Mother

Egon Schiele - Agony

Egon Schiele - Embrace - 1917

Egon Schiele - Crouched Woman - 1918

Egon Schiele - Expressionism

The Expressionist Works of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - German Expressionism

Artist: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938)
Style: German Expressionist

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was a German born expressionist painter from the town Aschaffenburg. Kirchner was one of the founder of the famed German Expressionist art group Die Brucke. In school Kirchner studied architecture in the city of Dresden in 1901. During this time Kirchner was introduced to Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and before long they formed Die Brucke. Their art group found inspiration in art done by painters such as Vincent Van Gogh, Edvard Munch and Georges Rouault. After completing his studies in architecture Kirchner moved on to studying painting in Munich. Kirchner's had an incredibly passionate style of painting; he because famous for his heavily saturated brushstrokes and bright abstract colors. During World War I Kirchner entered military service, and suffered a nervous breakdown in 1915. In 1918 Kirchner moved to Switzerland where he continued to paint and show his work while at the same time battling severe depression. Like many other expressionist artists of the time Kirchner's art was tragically included in the Nazi Entartete Kunst 1937 exhibition of degenerate art and over 500 of his priceless works were destroyed. This caused Kirchner even further depression and in 1938 Ernst Ludwig Kirchner committed suicide.

Here are some examples of Expressionist / Expressionism paintings by the German Expressionist artist Ernst Kirchner.


Self-Portrait as a Soldier - 1915 - Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Ernst Kirchner - Combats - 1915 - German Expressionism

Ernst Kirchner - Marcella

Ernst Kirchner - Akt auf blauem Grund

Berlin - Ernst Kirchner - Expressionist Painting

Dresden - Ernst Kirchner