Egon Schiele: The Leopold Collection, Vienna

Egon Schiele, the Austrian painter, draftsman, and printmaker, was one of the major figures of Austrian Expressionism. This beautiful book discusses and reproduces 150 of Schiele's paintings, watercolors, gouaches, and drawings from the Leopold collection, which can now be seen in the new Schiele Museum in Austria.

While remaining faithful to the initial influences on his work of the Vienna Secession and in particular of the art of Gustav Klimt, Schiele developed a highly personal and expressive style. This style -- which reflects the sexual and psychological tension explored in writing by his contemporary Freud -- can be seen not only in his self-portraits and female nudes but also in his colorful paintings and watercolors of the Czech village of Krumau. Schiele's art defines the expressionist end of the Art Nouveau period in Vienna.

This book will be the catalogue for an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, opening in October 1997 and closing in January, 1998.

The Leopold Museum in Vienna is a Mecca for devotees of Egon Schiele as it houses the world's largest permanent collection of the artist's works. Comprising works from 1905 to 1918, the year of Schiele's death, this book features large-scale reproductions that allow readers to closely examine the artist's extraordinary use of line and colour. Presented chronologically, these works on paper are accompanied by insightful commentary. An introduction and biography of Schiele by Rudolf Leopold discuss the artist's influences, his controversial career, and his place in the pantheon of twentieth-century artists.