Egon Schiele in front of the Mirror in his Hietzing Studio, in the Background the Painting Death and the Maiden, 1915, 1915

This shot, which was taken by Egon Schiele’s (1890–1918) fellow artist Johannes Fischer (1888–1955) and shows the artist in his studio in Vienna’s 13th district on Hietzinger Hauptstraße, is among the best-known and most frequently reproduced photographs of Egon Schiele. In a relaxed pose, his hands casually in his trouser pockets, the 25-year-old artist is standing in front of a large mirror, which he used for his numerous self-portraits. Schiele appears to be both looking at himself and engaging with the photographer. To the left, we can discern half of a large-format painting: the work Death and the Maiden, 1915, kept today at the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere in Vienna. In this work, Schiele processed his painful separation from Wally Neuzil (1894–1917), who since 1911 had been his muse, model and partner.

KJ, 2023