Egon Schiele as a Child, 1891

This individual portrait of 1-year-old Egon was probably created together with the photographic Siblings’ Portrait of Egon (1890–1918), Elvira (1883–1893) and Melanie (1886–1974) Schiele. The little boy is seated in a children’s chair made of bamboo, which, like the cushion he is sitting on, is decorated with many tassels; he is wearing a sunhat and a boy’s dress, then still a customary piece of children’s clothing. He is looking at the camera full of curiosity, probably wondering what is happening. The picture was taken by the famous court photographer Ludwig Grillich (1856–1926), who had a studio in the 18th District of Vienna. He created many photographic portraits of famous Viennese personalities, many of whom had their picture taken in their private interiors. In recognition of his work, he was awarded the Voigtländer Medal in 1909 (named after Friedrich v. Voigtländer, 1812–1878, a pioneer of photography) by the Vienna Photographic Society, founded in 1861.

KJ, 2023