Adolf and Marie Schiele with Egon, Melanie and Elvira, c. 1892

The front and reverse side of the present photograph names the photographer Josef Müller, who apparently had a studio in Herzogenburg and Tulln. The shot of the Schiele family was likely taken in Tulln, and shows the married couple Marie (1862–1935) and Adolf Schiele (1851–1905) with their children Egon, Melanie and Elvira. Only Melanie is looking at the camera, all the other family members appear to be lost in thought. Shortly after the photograph was taken, around 1892, the family situation changed abruptly: The oldest child, Elvira, died in 1893 aged only ten from meningitis, while Gertrude (1894–1981) was born ten months later in Tulln. “Gerti” and Egon had a very close relationship, and she would later repeatedly model for her brother.

KJ, 2023