Egon Schiele's Portraits: With a New Preface [Paperback]

Alessandra Comini has published more books and catalogues on the art and life of Austrian artist Egon Schiele than any other writer. The personal favorite of this reader has been the succinct but intensely informative and visually documented 1976 volume simply titled EGON SCHIELE, but sadly that is out of print. But those who are absorbed by the idiosyncratic work of the artist of both bizarre life and bizarre paintings may rest assured that this large volume contains not only most of the information Comini has contributed tot he world literature, but also adds the bonus of a very close examination of the Portraits.

For Schiele nearly all of his paintings (with the possible exception of his gorgeously bleak landscapes) were portraits, whether named as such or no. But Schiele's eye was focused on the raw psyche Freud was unveiling and his preoccupation with the sensual, the erotic, and the dark dies of this subjects is what makes them unique. Schiele was a tortured man, not only from his own strident personal issues, but also form the public response to his art. An outcast, he never stopped painting the prepubescent girls he entertained in his studio, nor did he ever tire of his self portraits, works that range from the most savagely aroused eroticism to the frightened eyes of a man at odds with the art world and indeed with the world at large.

Comini suffuses this superb array of reproductions of Schiele's genius with straight forward, authoritative, non-judgmental and even adoration writing. The symbols and body gestures of his models are investigated and examined and explained. Comini is an art scholar but she writes with a style that reads like a novel. For those looking for a definitive basis of work on the art of Egon Schiele this volume is a fine starting point. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, February 06

Alessandra Comini is brilliant. She thematically and chonologically follows the formal expressions inherent in Schiele's portraits in a study which has been repeatedly quoted from and alluded to by German-speaking scholars and social historians of the Austo-Hungarian empire alike. This is a study which is always free of moral rhetoric and one whose analytical prowess is unmatched. Her explanation of space and composition is illuminating. Furthermore, she patiently and eloquently traces the technical virtuosity of Schiele's portraits with unbounded esprit and effortless descriptions. This is very much the case especially in the masturbation masterpieces of 1910 (Delirium and Melancholia) whose reading elsewhere is often sacrificed at the expense of a psychological appropriation within a framework of the erotics of the self. Further marks of exceptional scholarship are found in the way the art historian articulates Schiele's use of the doppleganger, and not least to Schile's relationship with Klimt. The relationship between the two Austrians receives what amounted to a re-definition of the supposed deference Schiele nrtured for Klimt. This in Schiele scholarship has become the final word on the subject illuminated by a particularly inspired visual narrative discussing the Hermits portrait.
"Egon Schile's Portraits" is a study that is consistently fertile and exhaustive, focused and instructive; it offers a wealth of insights and details which allows the artist to come to the fore more so than the troubles of the man, even when the two overlap considerably (which is inevitable). In addition Comini mines and uproots the artistic landscape of Schiele's time (Klinger's etching cycle "on Death"; and Klimt's exhibition at the Wiener Werkstatte of 1907) to show his posturing within it more so than the influence one may find inherent in the etchings and watercolors (with continual cross-references to Van Gogh and Matisse). Always careful to corroberate her interpretations of intentions through letters and correspondence Schiele exchanged, Comini's orientations of the compositional and dispositional views remain fully inscribed and rooted in a context from which Schile worked and through which his work is described. Finallly this work is nothing short of ground-breaking in how it details the means through which physical attributes and mannerisms, mutations and mutilations, theatrics and lay-out contribute to make Schiele's work the embodiment of an age, an art, and a vision which on its technical merits alone receives marks of genius - and referencing its social import requires continued reflection. There is no better place to explore would you wish to understand Schiele the artist than Alessandra Comini's in-depth monograph on the portraits.

› Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews  5.0 out of 5 stars