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Lying Newborn, 1910

Leopold Museum,
Vienna
Crayon, gouache on paper
43.4×30.4 cm

Artists

  • Egon Schiele

    (Tulln 1890–1918 Vienna)

Unfortunately not on display at the moment
During the first months of 1910, Egon Schiele (1890–1918) created at least six depictions of newborn children at the 2nd Gynecological Hospital in Vienna. Three of them form part today of the collection of the Leopold Museum. These are, along with the present one Lying Newborn and Newborn with Bent Knees. Schiele depicted the moment of birth, the moment the body becomes visible, as being thrown into the world: The naked bodies of the newborns are abandoned at this threshold without protection. These images were only possible through Schiele’s friendship with the gynaecologist Erwin von Graff (1878–1952), who granted the artist access to the clinical institution and allowed him to acquaint himself with the medical view of the body. Along with depictions of children, Schiele also executed drawings of pregnant women on the examination table around this time, for instance Nude Pregnant Woman, Reclining.

VG, 2021

Object data

Artist/author
  • Egon Schiele
Title
Lying Newborn
Date
1910
Art movement
Expressionism
Category
Graphic work
Material​/technique
Crayon, gouache on paper
Dimensions
43.4×30.4 cm
Signature
Monogrammed upper right: S
Credit line
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. 1404
Inventory access
Contributed to the Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung in 1994
Selection of Reference works
  • Egon Schiele. Melancholie und Provokation, hrsg. von Elisabeth/Diethard Leopold, Wien 2011 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, 23.09.2011–19.04.2012).
  • Rudolf Leopold u.a. :Egon Schiele und Horst Janssen. Selbstinszenierung, Eros und Tod, Oldenburg 2004 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, 05.03.2004-28.06.2004).
  • Jane Kallir: Egon Schiele - The complete works. Expanded edition including a biography and a catalogue raisonné, New York 1998.
Catalogue raisonne
  • J. Kallir 1990/1998: D384
Keywords
nudepregnancy/birththe (nude) human figureinfant/babymedicine/medical science

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i

Koloman Moser, Wien (bis 1919); (1)
Rudolf Staechelin, Basel (o.D.-1931); (2)
Rudolf Staechelin´sche Familienstiftung, Basel, Inv. Nr. 305 (1931-1977); (3)
Dr. Rudolf Leopold, Wien (1977-1994); (4)
Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung, Wien (1994).

  1. Handschriftliches Sammlerzeichen von Koloman Moser auf der Blattrückseite
  2. Michael Wladika, Dossier zu 10 Blättern mit der Provenienz “Rudolf Staechelin’sche Familienstiftung”, 31.12.2014, S. 51
  3. Sammlerstempel: „Rud. Staechelinsche Familienstiftung“ links unten und handschriftliche Inventarnummer „305“ auf der Blattrückseite; Wladika, Dossier, S. 40
  4. Wladika, Dossier, S. 49-51.
Decision of the Advisory Board (PDF)

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Search in collection

nudepregnancy/birththe (nude) human figureinfant/babymedicine/medical science