Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Incest?



It has been claimed that Egon had an incestuous relationship with his younger sister Gertrude. While their love may have been particularly powerful - as two children united against their father's syphilitic tyranny - there is no definitive proof of their sexual liaisons. What proof could there be? We have the paintings... and when you look at the above, there can be little doubt that Egon viewed Gertrude sexually, but that does not necessarily mean that he acted sexually towards her. It is most likely that in her he felt the first awakenings of sexual energy and tension, urging him to possess her, resulting in them absconding to Trieste. It will remain one of the great mysteries... and one of the grey areas where our love and admiration for him as an artist is tainted by revulsion for him as a human.

Schiele and our dark souls


























Schiele revealed what those others couldn't or wouldn't dare to. while Klimt (and to a lesser extent Kokoschka) toyed with the ornate gloss of Vienna, Schiele pealed back the sellophane and exposed the rotting flesh, the vibrant filth and the fury in the bowels of society... the festering street urchins who were trampled under the polished boots of aristocrats...