Egon Schiele: Eros and Passion

by Klaus Albrecht Schröder, Egon Schiele

In this brilliant analysis, the erotic work of the Expressionist artist is examined within the perspective of history's shifting views concerning beauty, aesthetics, and decency.

Egon Schiele's controversial nudes and self-portraits were fiercely reviled when they first appeared in the early decades of the twentieth century and, nearly one hundred years later, they still have the power to shock. Examining why Schiele's work elicits this response, the author explores the social constrictions of Schiele's generation and the role of the artist as a breaker of taboos. Incorporating superb reproductions of Schiele's works, those of his contemporaries, and historical photographs, the author offers a penetrating study of an artist whose idea of beauty transcended the morality of his time.

Klaus Albrecht Schröder is Director of the Albertina Museum in Vienna, Austria.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Visual Art, Art History

116 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Dustincecil · Rating 5 out of 5]

yes to all of this.

[Tee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish. Writing is impossibly dense. (The one-star rating does NOT apply to the artwork!)

[Sean Billy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great examples of Shiele's paintings of figures. The writing though, gives less than exciting insight into the works.

[Al Maki]

It's a series of short writeups about different aspects of his work or the times with examples from the work of Schiele and others that together develop an explanation of Schiele's work, weaving together some discussion about composition and poses with ideas about his work as a counterblast to sexual repression.