Trcka: The Photographer

Anton Josef Trcka did more than anyone else to perpetuate the image we have of Schiele. He was a revolutionary in the relatively new medium of photography, pushing the boundaries and creating a true art form. Schiele was second only to Rembrandt in the number of self-portraits he produced and we know from his myriad works that he was obsessed with his own image.

But we only have this image through the artist’s own eyes. Trcka’s talent is that – through a completely different art form – he has captured that same Schiele: a tortured, self-obsessed artist; the wide eyes, the sharp fingers, the posing. Magical.

Trcka was born in Vienna in 1893 and died in 1940. He was friends with Schiele and Gustav Klimt. He also went under the pseudonym of “Antios” as you can see in the photo's bottom left hand corner. His work as a poet, sculptor is less well-known, but his photos of Schiele and Klimt are timeless.