Portrait of Wally Neuzil

1912 · Leopold Museum, Vienna

portrait

Most likely the best-known portrait of his partner Wally Neuzil, Egon Schiele painted this as a counterpart to his Self-Portrait with Physalis (Chinese lantern plant). This harmoniously composed likeness shows Wally Neuzil with her slightly-lowered head, auburn hair, and oversized, bright blue eyes looking directly at the viewer. Particularly impressive are Schiele's use of geometric shapes and the harmony of colors: orange and blue, white and black, red and green.

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About the Artist

Egon Schiele

1890 – 1918

Austrian painter, draughtsman and printmaker. He is, with Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980), one of the major figures of Austrian Expressionism, despite the brevity of his artistic career, which lasted only about ten years. While remaining faithful to the initial influences on his work of the Vienna Secession, and in particular of the art of Gustav Klimt, he developed a personal and expressive style. He introduced psychologically and sexually intense subject matter that was radical in its subjectivity and highly influential on later generations of artists. His distinctly personal style made him one of the most important representatives of early Viennese Expressionism. His oeuvre includes landscapes, portraits, and above all, nudes, which were considered scandalous in his day.

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