Egon Schiele: Life and Work [Hardcover]

Jane Kallir (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

Egon Schiele (1890-1918) was one of the most influential and popular painters to emerge from the cultural ferment that characterized Vienna at the beginning of the 20th century. This illustrated biography offers insights into the artist's art and life. Schiele expert Jane Kallir provides a vibrant account of the artist's turbulent life, including the sexual escapades that were often depicted in his drawings and paintings, while presenting a sweeping overview of his art.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Painter Egon Schiele enjoyed an astonishing range of accomplishments before his premature death at age 28, from being accepted to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts at 16 to being deemed "the foremost painter of his era" a mere 11 years later. In between, Schiele's talent and reputation flourished despite his intermittent poverty, conscription into the Austrian army, and imprisonment for exposing minors to pornography. Kallir, co-director of the esteemed Galerie St. Etienne, plunges into the artist's biography, never sensationalizing, never sidestepping, but deftly twining Schiele's artistic development together with his turbulent personal life and the shifting political landscape of Habsburg Austria. Whether exploring the influences of Oskar Kokoschka and Gustav Klimt, speculating on the precocious artist's psychological maturity, or scrutinizing Schiele's "glaring negative space" and "gyrations of the paint," Kallir offers lively, candid prose that never succumbs to jargon. Many of the lavish reproductions are instantly recognizable as vintage Schiele-the frank depictions of pubescent sexuality, the stark, attenuated self-portraits, the later society portraits, each marked by a distinctly virtuoso line. But unexpected treasures abound, too-Kallir's catalogue raisonnée includes the painter's early efforts in the Viennese Secession style as well as often overlooked vibrant landscapes and still lifes. Kallir's even-handed tone provides the perfect textual complement for a catalogue teeming with Schiele's raw expressionism and is a precious volume for any student or scholar of 20th-century art. 201 illustrations, 94 in full color.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Jane Kallir owns the prestigious Galerie St. Etienne in New York, founded by her grandfather, Otto Kallir, who brought the Vienna School to the attention of the American public and discovered Grandma Moses. She has curated many museum exhibitions and is the author of a number of books.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810946149
• ISBN-13: 978-0810946149
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,210,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive sum on Egon Schiele, April 7, 2007

By 

Claude Reich (Florianopolis, Brazil and Paris, France) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Egon Schiele: Life and Work (Hardcover)

If, like me, you like Egon Schiele, this is the definitive work on this great artist. Jane Kallir, through her gallery Saint Etienne, has been the leading authority on Schiele in the United States for many years, and her text is an irreplaceable contribution to the understanding of his oeuvre. As far as I know, this is the best book available on the artist and, unless you have a Schiele drawing hanging over your bed, or a painting by him hanging in your living room, there is no better way to enter his world than to open and savor this wonderful art book.

13 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, January 16, 2004

By 

Vanessa (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Egon Schiele: Life and Work (Hardcover)

Great buy--Just trust me. If you like his work--you will have much to indulge in. Ah Schiele--the original tortured artist--"In the name of art I will endure to the end!"