Vienna at the Turn of the Century
Vienna was the capital city of the Habsburg Empire, a state of multiple ethnicities consisting of twelve nations with a population of approximately thirty million. Emperor Franz Josef maintained strict Spanish court etiquette. Yet, on the government’s fortieth anniversary, he began a large-scale conversion of the city and its approximately 850 public and private monumental structures and buildings. At this time, the influx of the rural population coming to the big city was increasing. Simultaneously, increasing industrialisation resulted in the emergence of a proletariat in the suburbs, while the newly rich bourgeoisie settled in and around the exclusive Ringstrasse. In the writers’ cafés, Leon Trotsky, Lenin and later Hitler, consulted periodicals on display and brooded over the future of the new century.
Just how musty the artistic climate in Vienna was is evidenced by the scandal over Engelhard’s picture Young Girl under a Cherry Tree, in 1893. The painting was repudiated on the grounds of “respect for the genteel female audience, which one does not wish to embarrass so painfully vis-à-vis such an open-hearted naturalistic study”. What hypocrisy, when official exhibitions of nude studies, the obligation of every artist, had long been an institution. In 1897, Klimt, together with his fellow Viennese artists, founded the Vienna Secession, a splinter group aiming to separate itself from the officially accepted conduct for artists with the motto: “To the times its art, to the art its freedom”.
In 1898, the first exhibition took place in a building belonging to the horticultural society. It was distinguished from the usual exhibitions, which normally included several thousand works, by offering an elite selection of 100 to 200 works of art. The proceeds generated by the attendance of approximately 100,000 visitors financed a new gallery designed by the architect Olbrich. Exhibitions by Rodin, Kollwitz, Hodler, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Cézanne and Van Gogh opened the doors to the most up-to-date international art world. Visual artists worked beside renowned writers and musicians such as Rilke, Schnitzler, Alternberg, Schönberg and Alban Berg for the periodical Ver Sacrum. Here they developed the idea of the complete work of art, which encompassed all artistic areas. Simultaneously, the Secession required the abolition of the distinction between higher and lower art, art for the rich and art for the poor, and declared art common property. Yet, this demand of the art nouveau generation remained a privilege of the upper class striving for the ideal that ‘art is a lifestyle’, which encompassed architectural style, interior design, clothing and jewellery.
Nude Self-Portrait, Grimacing, 1910.
Pencil, watercolours and gouache, 55.8 x 36.9 cm.
Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna.
Standing Male Nude with Red Loincloth, 1914.
Pencil, watercolour and gouache, 48 x 32 cm.
Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna.
Gustav Klimt, the Father Figure
In 1907, Schiele made the acquaintance of Gustav Klimt (1862–1918), who became his father figure and generously supported the talent of the young genius for the rest of his life. They exchanged drawings with one another and Klimt even modelled for Schiele. In his career, Klimt profited from the large volume of commissioned work, such as the 34.14-metre-long Beethovenfries created for the faculty. Nevertheless, he ran into misunderstanding about the central motif of a nude couple embracing from his contemporaries. Criticism of Klimt became more vehement when the periodical Ver Sacrum published his drawings and was confiscated by a public prosecutor because “the depiction of the nude grossly violated modesty and, therefore, offended the public”. Klimt answered that he wanted nothing to do with stubborn people. What was decisive for him was whom it was meant to please. For Klimt, who was supported by private patronage, this meant his clientele of Viennese middle-class patrons.
Schiele’s Models
Unlike Klimt, Schiele found his models on the streets: young girls of the proletariat and prostitutes; he preferred the child-woman androgynous types. The thin, gaunt bodies of his models characterised lower-class status, while the full-bosomed, luscious ladies of the bourgeoisie expressed their class through well-fed corpulence. Yet, the attitude of the legendary Empress Sissi is symptomatic of a time in which the conventional image of women began to change. She indeed bore the desired offspring, however, she rebelled against the maternal role expected of her. The ideal of a youthful figure nearly caused her to become anorexic. At the same time, she shocked Viennese court society not only with her unconventional riding excursions, but also in that she wore her clothing without the prescribed stockings.
Around the time of the fin de siècle, Schiele portrayed young working class girls. The number of prostitutes in Vienna was among the highest per capita of any European city. Working-class women were where upper-class gentlemen found the defenceless objects of their desire, which they did not find in their own wives. The young, gaunt bodies in Schiele’s nude drawings almost stir pity; red blotches cover their thin skin and skeleton-like hands. Their bodies are tensed; however, the red genitalia are full and voracious. Like little animals, they lie in wait for the lustful gaze of the beholder. Despite their young age, Schiele’s models are aware of their own erotic radiance and know how to skilfully pose. The masturbating gesture of the hand on the vagina accompanies the provocative gaze of the model. Contrary to the hygienic taboos of the upper class, for example, not to linger overly long while washing the lower body and not to allow oneself to be viewed in the nude, Schiele’s drawings testify to a simple body consciousness and a matter-of-fact attitude. For the lower levels of society, “love for sale” pertained to earning one’s daily bread. Outraged, the Viennese public lashed out at Schiele, stating that he painted the ultimate vice and utmost depravation, while he confronted both male and female spectators with their own, hypocritical sexuality. In a letter he wrote: “Doing an awful lot of advertising with my prohibited drawings” and went on to cite five notable newspapers that referred to him. Were his nude drawings but a sales strategy that helped draw attention to himself?
Boy in Sailor Suit, 1914.
Gouache, watercolour, coloured crayon and pencil, 47.8 x 31.2 cm.
Private collection.
The Brother, 1911.
Gouache, watercolour and pencil with white highlighting, 44.7 x 30.4 cm.
Private collection.
Portrait of Gerti Schiele, 1909.
Oil, silver, gold-bronze paint and pencil on canvas, 140.5 x 140 cm.
The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Self-Portrait with Arms Thrust Backwards, 1915.
Gouache, pastel and charcoal, 32.9 x 44.8 cm.
E. W. Kornfeld collection.
The Artist’s Mother, Sleeping, 1911.
Pencil, watercolour with white highlighting, 45 x 31.6 cm.
Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna.
Red Nude, Pregnant, 1910.
Watercolour and charcoal, 44.5 x 31 cm.
Private collection.
Portrait of a Woman (Valerie Neuzil), 1912.
Gouache and pencil on paper, 24.8 x 24.8 cm.
Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna.
Wally in Red Blouse with Raised Knees, 1913.
Watercolour, pencil and gouache, 31.8 x 48 cm.
Private