- 5
Egon Schiele
Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Egon Schiele
- STADT AN EINEM FLUSS (TOWN ON A RIVER)
- signed Egon Schiele and dated 1916 (lower left)
- pencil on paper
- 28.9 by 44.1cm.
- 11 3/8 by 17 3/8 in.
Provenance
Private Collection, Vienna
Johanna & Eric Polk, USA (sold: Sotheby's, New York, 13th November 1996, lot 238)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner
Literature
Jane Kallir, Egon Schiele: The Complete Works, London, 1998, no. 1867a, illustrated p. 675
Condition
Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down, hinged to the mount in the top two corners. Apart from a 0.5cm. supported tear in the upper left corner and a minor scuff with some associated surface dirt towards the upper right corner, this work is in very good condition.
Colours: In comparison with the printed catalogue illustration, the paper tone is lighter in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Stadt an einem Fluss depicts the small town of Krumau, formerly part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and now part of the Czech Republic's Bohemian region, on the banks of the Moldau river. The houses of the town are depicted as if stacked up one upon the other, in bird's eye perspective, rising up to the picture plane. Schiele had a close link with the town of Krumau, which was the birthplace of his mother Marie, and where the artist sought refuge when he was experiencing difficult times in his life.
In the present work, the compositional format displays that elevated perspective typical of Schiele's townscapes, captured as if the artist - and, in turn, the viewer - has the vantage point of a soaring bird or a visionary, godlike being, hovering above the landscape and looking down on the town from the heights. Jane Kallir writes: 'Schiele's favourite landscape subject [...] was the town of Krumau (today Cesky Krumlov), to which he referred most frequently as the 'dead city' (but also as the 'old city' and the 'city on the blue river'). Krumau [...] was indisputably an old city, a medieval time capsule whose winding streets and crumbling buildings embodied for Schiele an eternity of human decay and persistence. Situated around and within a tortuous bend in the Moldau river (now called the Vlatava), Krumau has a compact, islandlike configuration that Schiele found compositionally intriguing. He liked especially to perch on the high left bank of the river and draw the old town from above. He told one friend that his bird's eye perspective influenced all his work, and, indeed, even his nudes were often viewed from the vantage point of a tall stool or ladder' (J. Kallir, Egon Schiele, New York, 1994, p. 96).
In the present work, the compositional format displays that elevated perspective typical of Schiele's townscapes, captured as if the artist - and, in turn, the viewer - has the vantage point of a soaring bird or a visionary, godlike being, hovering above the landscape and looking down on the town from the heights. Jane Kallir writes: 'Schiele's favourite landscape subject [...] was the town of Krumau (today Cesky Krumlov), to which he referred most frequently as the 'dead city' (but also as the 'old city' and the 'city on the blue river'). Krumau [...] was indisputably an old city, a medieval time capsule whose winding streets and crumbling buildings embodied for Schiele an eternity of human decay and persistence. Situated around and within a tortuous bend in the Moldau river (now called the Vlatava), Krumau has a compact, islandlike configuration that Schiele found compositionally intriguing. He liked especially to perch on the high left bank of the river and draw the old town from above. He told one friend that his bird's eye perspective influenced all his work, and, indeed, even his nudes were often viewed from the vantage point of a tall stool or ladder' (J. Kallir, Egon Schiele, New York, 1994, p. 96).