Egon Schiele and Leopold Czihaczek during a Hike up Buchberg Mountain in Neulengbach, 11th Jul. 1908

Egon Schiele (1890–1918) and his uncle Leopold Czihaczek (1842–1929) were photographed by Gottfried Hoffmann on 11th July 1908 during a hike up Buchberg mountain in Neulengbach. Czihaczek, who appears in the foreground on the right, smiling contentedly, is holding a cigar in his left hand, and the lead of a seated dog as well as his hat in his right hand. Schiele poses slightly behind him, apparently clutching a sketchbook in his left hand, and what looks like a bouquet of flowers in his right hand. After the untimely death of Schiele’s father on New Year’s Eve 1904/05, Czihaczek became the artist’s joint guardian. In the beginning, they seem to have had a good relationship, and Schiele portrayed his uncle several times, also in oil, for instance in the paintings Portrait of Leopold Czihaczek and Leopold Czihaczek at the Piano. However, in 1910, Czihaczek prematurely resigned from his duties as joint guardian on account of Schiele’s behavior “flouting any and all notions of morality”.

MA, 2023