埃貢·席勒

Fischer Fine Art, London
Dorothy M. Skinner & John S. Cook, Oak Ridge, Tennessee (acquired from the above in 1974)
A bequest from the above to the present owner in 2011

London, Piccadilly Gallery, Vienna 1900-1931, 1973, no. 126, recto illustrated in the catalogue
London, Fischer Fine Art, Universe of Art IV, 1974, no. 88, recto illustrated in the catalogue
Princeton, Princeton University, The Art Museum, Princeton Alumni Collections - Works on Paper, 1981, recto and verso illustrated in the catalogue
New York, Galerie St. Etienne, Egon Schiele: Master Draughtsman, 1997-98, no, 28
Medford, Tufts University Art Gallery, Highlights of the Dorothy M. Skinner and John S. Cook Bequest, 2008

Jane Kallir, Egon Schiele: The Complete Works, New York, 1990, no. 1114, recto illustrated p. 476; no. 999, verso illustrated p. 463
Wolfgang Georg Fischer, Egon Schiele, Pantomimen der Lust, Visionen der Sterblichkeit, Cologne, 1994, recto illustrated in colour p. 50

Executed on white wove paper, not laid down, hinged to the mount on the verso. The medium is fresh and unfaded. The paper is slightly discoloured due to mild oxidation and there are minimal mount stains along all four edges. There are some supported small tears (all under 1cm., most of which are not visible when mounted) at the edges. Apart from a few tiny spots of pigment loss to the hair of the lower figure, and some scattered spots of foxing visible on the verso, this work is in good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although overall slightly less warm in the original, particularly in the hair of the lower figure, which has a more green tonality.
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Zwei Liegende Figuren epitomises Schiele’s ground-breaking approach to composition and his virtuoso drawing style.  In discussing Schiele’s innovative arrangements Wolfgang Fischer used the present work to illustrate the artist’s unconventional approach to perspective. Fischer suggests that the two figures seem to float upon the page, thus offering no defined concept of space, which was reinforced by the economy of line and colour. 'Schiele once said that he would like to circle over the city like a bird of prey. And it was from that perspective that he approached the objects of his scrutiny, whether townscape or nude model. The object was the victim of Schiele's will: he had to possess it, entire, for himself. In a sense, Schiele cut his nude models out of their surroundings. Shorn of their distracting references to the real, with no indication of available light and shadow, the time of day, or the quality of the air, they serve as vehicles for erotic emotion in the greatest variety of positions... The unworked white or brown of the paper served as an empty space, a stage on which things might happen' (W. G. Fischer, op. cit., p. 47).  


Jane Kallir suggests that the upper of the two nudes in the present work is a likeness of Wally (Walpurga/Valerie) Neuzil, her distinctive strawberry blonde hair being a common feature in works from this period. At first Wally was one of many models used by Schiele, both individually and in pairs, to pose for myriad sketches and drawings. Not before long Wally became Schiele’s favourite model and muse. In 1911 the pair moved from Vienna: firstly to Krumau, his mother’s birthplace, and then on to Neulengbach. Their relationship further matured over an ordeal in which the artist was falsely accused of kidnap. Wally’s constancy throughout his trial besotted Schiele and highlighted her indispensability both personally and artistically.