Customer Reviews

Egon Schiele (Big Series Art)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jammed with photos of Schiele, the different subjects and styles from his short career, and background information. This book also serves as a biography in many ways. Schiele's style is full of life's decay and resurrection. His work is only seen as being decadent because we have alienated ourselves so completely from nature and human nature. The natural decay of life is only ugly when one thinks one is above it all or removed from the process. His young nude girls have a silken decadence that glimpses into our natural beauty and being. Instead of turning from the mirror when one sees something less than what one wants to see, Schiele turns the spotlight on until the image is engraved into our psyche. The power of his colors and strokes and images are second to none. He's controversial. But so is Darwin. He tells us things we don't want to hear or see.

Not a "complete collection" of his work, although it does claim to reproduce all of his 'major' oils. It would seem that, given he died before the age of 30, his entire known work or paintings could have been reproduced in one book. Nevertheless, this book does represent a more complete collection that I have seen in any other Schiele books to date. I have been hanging out to get a good book of his work, and finally purchased when I saw this one in a bookshop. In other publications, the colour balance of some works has been a little different (for example I have seen more vibrant/colourful versions of the family squatting).

Reading this book was a great addition to the course I took with Alessandra Comini. She is a brilliant scholar and an amazing member of faculty at Southern Methodist University.

This book on Schiele gives a detailed account of the life that inspired the beautiful paintings. The read isn't difficult but is clearly articulated by Comini. It is evident that her studies were detailed and well thought out.

This book is highly recommended for a couple of reasons. 1) Comini was one of the first scholars to look into the life of Schile and she did a great job of showing how he impacted art. 2) The plates included with the book are all sharp images and are explained in ways you cannot get in any other art book.

Comini has explained the motivations of an often mysterious artist without seeming pretentious. This elusive art can be enjoyed by everyone because of the clear explanations in this beautiful book.

...and very frame-worthy prints! Also, a very good range and variety of his works.

If you're like me, a neophite in the world of great austrian art, you'll enjoy this book. It has many reproductions of Schiele's work, all in color, and texts that give you a hint on his purposes and his time.

The book was in excellent condition. Hardly any wear on the book and just as they described it. It also came in earlier than expected which was very nice. Thank you!

There is a great balance of reproductions and narrative. Schiele fans will enjoy this book. Regardless of what artist you are looking for check the Phaidon collection first. I have never been disappointed by their art books.

A 'must have' book for Schiele fans! good illustrations and rich text content... maybe the best book about this artist!

In our highly visual culture, short on attention span but longingly multiplicitous in the magnitude of available images, poetic justice is this book. Van Goth has become the most famous painter for expressing the agony of the unrecognized artist, willing to die to save his brother the terrible expense of having too many mouths to feed, but Egon Schiele suffered arrest and had one of his drawings burned in open court because the judge knew what it was a picture of. While the number of Van Goth paintings may have increased due to an influx of fakes after Van Goth's death, actual drawings by Egon Schiele may have been destroyed long ago because they were deemed pornographic. This book is great on the details of what we can still know about someone who had a great talent, drawing for a secret market.

The only reason that I gave it 4 stars is because im rating the book.. if I were rating the artist it would be a perfect 5 stars! I think Schiele was an artistical genious! It is really very sad that he died so young when it was seemed that he was about to reach the worldwide status he deserved so much.. i feel that art has missed out on a lot of things from his death.. If you're not familiar with Schiele buy this book.. you'll love it! even if you're not into reading! just look at the pictures!