Egon Schiele (1890-1918), Signed Gouache ‘Peasant Women’, 1910 Gouache, watercolour and black chalk on brown paper Austria, 1910 Egon Schiele (1890-1918) – Austrian artist Signed and dated lower right ‘S.10.’ Catalogue raisonné: Kallir 726 Framed behind a mat Overall dimensions, framed: 52.5 x 42.5 cm; sheet size: 43.3 x 30.5 cm Good, original condition with perfectly preserved colours Provenance: Canadian private collection, ex. Galerie Würthle, Vienna An expressive artwork by the exceptional artist displaying a bold colour scheme; works on paper by Egon Schiele fetch up to 9 million Euros on the international auction market The work ‘Peasant Women’ (Bäuerinnen) by Egon Schiele from 1910 was presumably created in Krumau, a city in Southern Bohemia in today’s Czech Republic, where the artist spent the summer months of 1910. It appears reasonable to assume, that Schiele was able to sketch these peasant women, dressed in traditional costume, in the small town on the Moldova rather than in Vienna. The artist has placed the women in a group at the upper margin of the sheet; only one of them, a younger girl in a pink-violet garb with a blue apron stands a bit further away. Like the other women, she is holding a long stick. The woman in front of the group, facing the beholder, has folded her hands, resting her chin on the stick. Schiele has drawn the women with decisive lines in black chalk, which are much broader than the fine lines of his later drawings. The extensive colour fields on the women’s dresses have been painted with broad brush strokes, some more pastose than others: the aprons are painted brighter and slightly more transparent than the women’s skirts or blouses. One of the most vivid colours was used for the skin of the figures. Equally intense is the black, used by the artist for a skirt and blouse left and right of the central female figure, thus framing her on both sides and virtually presenting her to the viewer. The drawing ‘Peasant Women’ (Bäuerinnen) is executed in gouache, watercolour and black chalk on paper. The sheet measures 43.3 x 30.5 cm, the frame measures 52.5 x 42.5 cm. It is framed in an ecru-coloured mat and placed in a frame that shows visible signs of age and wear. The sheet is laid down on the upper margin on cardboard. It is in a good, original condition according to its age. As illustrated, the colours are vibrant. The paper shows minor evidence of discolouration. There are minimal creases all over the sheet as well as a hard crease along the left border (this leaves the drawing untouched). There is an old water stain on the left margin. Below the drawing runs a fine horizontal line caused by water staining. On the right margin there is a small superficial damage in the paper; a similar small blemish can be seen on the lower margin, which is covered by the mat. There is a small hole in the centre of the upper margin and two minimal pinholes can be seen in both upper corners. Schiele’s initial and the date are in the lower right corner ‘S. 10.’, written in black chalk. The piece is numbered on the back ‘42’ as well as inscribed ‘S [….] schwarz einfassen’ (‘frame in black’). The artwork is included in Jane Kallir’s catalogue raisonné (No. 726). Egon Schiele (1890-1918) Egon Schiele, along with Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka, is one of the most significant artists of the Wiener Moderne. His exceptional talent was discovered early on. Schiele was accepted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna at the young age of 16, leaving after only three years to found the Neukunstgruppe in 1909. In the same year four of his artworks were exhibited at the Internationale Kunstschau. Influenced by Gustav Klimt, whom he first met in 1907, Schiele soon developed a completely unique style. At the age of 20 he was already a mature artist. After leaving Vienna in 1911, Schiele experienced one of his most productive periods. His lifestyle, however, was seen as scandalous outside the capital. He was even imprisoned on charges of ‘public immorality’. Schiele served in the Austrian army during World War I. During his first months of service he had an intermittent access to his Vienna studio. In 1916, however, he was transferred to a POW camp in a remote rural community, and found less time for creative work. Only upon his return to Vienna in 1917 did Schiele’s artistic output return to its prior level. In 1917 and 1918, his work was shown in Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Helsinki. Schiele achieved his breakthrough in 1918 with a group exhibition of the Vienna Secession, where he was able to present a wide selection of paintings and drawings. He subsequently participated inA Century of Viennese Painting at the Kunsthaus Zurich as well as shows in Prague and Dresden. The 28-year-old had just reached the peak of his success when the Spanish Flu took his life along with that of his pregnant wife Edith. Starting price: 50000