Egon Schiele
(1890-1918)
Stein on the Danube, Seen from the South (Large), 1913
Oil on canvas
Neue Galerie New York. This work is part of the collection of Estée Lauder and was made available through the generosity of Estée Lauder
Austrian Expressionist artist Egon Schiele is arguably best appreciated for his portraits, but he was also a gifted landscape painter. He sometimes adopted a frontal approach for his townscapes. In Stein on the Danube, Seen from the South (Large) (1913), Schiele made a small panel painting of the scene before embarking on the larger canvas. Compositionally, this work has a strong linear framework and is arranged in horizontal bands of color in a limited palette composed of browns and dull greens, which are enlivened with bright patches of blue, emerald green, and red. The murky Danube River in the foreground gives way to a lush riverbank that yields to the town beyond. In the distance, terraced vineyards hint at the importance of viniculture to this region. Two prominent church towers loom over the scene and provide a counterbalance to the dominant horizontality of the picture. Schiele was especially proud of the finished picture and was reluctant to part with it. He proclaimed that it deserved a place “in the gallery of a person with a deep appreciation for art.” Under financial strain, he reluctantly sold it to collector Franz Hauer.