Egon Schiele

Otto Benesch, Vienna
Sale: Wiener Kunstauktionen, Vienna, June 10, 1997, lot 217
Private Collection, Belgium (acquired at the above sale and sold: Sotheby's, London, June 29, 1999, lot 283)
Private Collection (acquired at the above sale)
Acquired from the above

Jane Kallir, Egon Schiele: The Complete Works, London, 1998, no. 2483a, illustrated p. 680

This work is in very good condition. Executed on cream wove paper. There are remnants of tape at upper corners on verso as well as two lines from the beginning of an unfinished drawing. Sheet is slightly time darkened with mat stain around the perimeter that is one-inch thick along the left and top edges and less than a centimeter thick at right and bottom edges. Artist pinholes at all four corners and one very small loss to the extreme top edge near upper right corner, otherwise find.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Schiele was a prolific draughtsman, and he claimed to regard his drawings as nothing more than private, preparatory sketches. "My drawings have no other purpose than as preparations for my painted pictures—they are intended only for myself and they have enormous value for me..." (Thomas M. Messner, Egon Schiele: Works on Paper, New York, 1965, p. 5). However, commenting on the significance of Schiele's figure drawings, scholar Thomas Messer remarks: "It is the rendition of the human likeness that carries Schiele most directly toward the attainment of his creative objectives. Schiele drew and painted men and women, from infancy to old age, in formal pose and in moments of abandon, singly or in groups, concentrating upon them all his skill and penetrating insight. In doing so, he observed their every feature, probing beyond the exterior toward the hidden layers of a psychic reality. Eventually this search centered upon himself. Or rather, one may assume that Schiele's trenchant portraits of others were always preparatory manoeuvres for an ulitmate assault upon the bastions of his own inner defences" (Messer, ibid., p. 7).