Marie Schiele, née Soukup, undated

Marie Schiele (1862–1935) was born in Krumau, the daughter of a wealthy master builder by the name of Johann Franz Soukup (1842–1898). In 1879, at the age of only 17, she married the Vienna-born railway official Adolf Schiele (1851–1905). The couple moved several times. In 1887, Adolf Schiele was appointed station master of Tulln railway station. In today’s train station, there is a small museum dedicated to the artist in the family’s former apartment, where Egon Schiele (1890–1918) spent the first years of his life. During these early years, Schiele portrayed his mother several times (Marie Schiele. The present photograph shows Marie Soukup as a young girl in what was known as a “cabinet portrait”. The term cabinet refers the photograph’s format, usually measuring 10 x 15 cm, which was subsequently mounted on cardboard.

KJ, 2024