Egon Schiele Special Exhibition

Text and photos by Chen Chi-Hsiang. Exhibition dates: October 3 to January 14, 2019. Venue: Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris. The Fondation Louis Vuitton is proudly hosting this Egon Schiele exhibition, marking his first show in Paris in 25 years. As a centennial commemoration of Schiele’s death in 2018, it is understandable that the Parisian audience was delighted, filled with curiosity and anticipation. Under the museum’s interesting curation, two artistic geniuses are placed in sharp contrast, exhibited simultaneously with another legendary painter from the late twentieth century, Jean-Michel Basquiat. Both disappeared into the night sky at the height of their youth (age 28), leaving an extraordinary chapter in art history. Most of the classic works in this special exhibition come from private collections and are rarely shown publicly. With paper-based works as the main body and a few oil paintings, the exhibition fully satisfies the desires of many art lovers.

Egon Schiele (1890–1918) was a representative painter of Austrian Expressionism in the early twentieth century. He subverted Viennese traditional aesthetics and experience, famous for his innovative, strongly expressive figures and distorted bodies. Under the charm of subjective limbs, textured lines, and color application, he touched upon inner tremors, revealing a sensibility, introspection, intense desire (full of sexuality), and the unease and misery of existence that captivates viewers. His themes revolve around figures touching the depths of the soul, female nudes or semi-nudes (alluring poses), numerous self-portraits, portraits, and a few landscape and architectural paintings. The figures he painted appear decadent, with ambiguous expressions and anxious eyes, making one restless. His works are full of strong, rich emotions and are extremely sensual.