WOLFGANG GEORG FISCHER

"Art cannot be modern. Art is primordially eternal." Egon Schiele "Hindering the artist is a crime," wrote Egon Schiele in 1912. At the time he was in prison for disseminating immoral drawings. Throughout his work the note of defiance, provocation, and rebellion was sounded. Schiele's favorite subjects were female nudes and self-portraits, and he worked at his art with furious commitment, though it was not until shortly before his early death that he began to win real recognition. Today, with Oskar Kokoschka, he is seen as the most important of the Austrian artists who came after Klimt. This study examines the life and work of Egon Schiele through all the major oil paintings and many of his erotic drawings.

"Reprimir al artista es un delito...", escribe el joven Schiele desde la celda, en la que cumple la pena de prisión que le han impuesto por la "difusión de dibujos animados obscenos". Obstinación, rebelión y provocación surcan toda su obra. Sus temas favoritos son los desnudos de muchachas y los autorretratos. La fama le llega poco antes de su temprana muerte. Hoy se le considera, junto con Oskar Kokoschka, el más importante pintor de la generación que sucedió a Klimt. El presente libro narra la vida de Egon Schiele y reproduce la totalidad de sus óleos, así como muchos de sus dibujos eróticos.